Elizabeth O.
House of Representatives Issues Arrest Warrant for CBN Governor and Others
These individuals have repeatedly refused to appear before the committee to address inquiries regarding their operations.
The motion to issue the arrest warrant was put forward by Rep Fred Agbedi (PDP-Bayelsa) during the committee’s hearing on Tuesday. Agbedi emphasized that this course of action had become necessary due to the invitees’ non-compliance. Despite being invited four times, they had failed to respond.
Agbedi suggested that the Inspector General of Police execute the arrest warrant and ensure the CEOs’ presence before the committee. Rep Tajudeen Abbas, the Speaker, would oversee this process after conducting the required due diligence.
In his ruling, the Chairman of the Committee, Rep Micheal Irom (APC-Cross River), directed the Inspector General to ensure that the CEOs appear before the committee on December 14. Prior to this, Mr. Fidelis Uzowanem, the petitioner, explained that the petition was based on the 2021 report by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).
“We took on the challenge of examining the report and found that NEITI’s report is essentially a compilation of fraudulent activities that have been occurring in the oil and gas industry since 2016. We have been following this closely and submitted a petition to this committee to investigate the matter.
The recoverable amount identified in the NEITI report can confidently fund the proposed 2024 budget of 27.5 trillion. The report essentially uncovers undisclosed illegal transactions involving the NNPC and certain oil companies, where cash payments were made for crude oil production by companies that did not actually produce any crude,” he explained.
