•Mr. Sunday Ehindero Photo: Sun News Publishing

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The noose appears to be tightening round the neck of the immediate past Inspector General of Police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero, as anti-fraud detectives at the Police Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) in Abuja unearth fresh clues in the ongoing probe into the recent N21million scam for which three of his close aides were held.

In fact, the investigators have recommended that Ehindero be asked to refund N37million which the erstwhile Commissioner of Police in charge of Budget, Mr. John Obaniyi, was said to have withdrawn on his orders.

Daily Sun checks revealed that the embattled CP Obaniyi and the ex-IGP have already given conflicting accounts on the purpose for which the money was withdrawn, prompting the recommendation for refund of the money.

It was further gathered that the investigators’ conviction of a foul play with regard to the N37million was strengthened by the fact that while Ehindero claimed that the money was withdrawn for contingency, Obaniyi told his interrogators that he withdrew the money on the orders of Ehindero for the purpose of Public Relations (PR).

Ehindero’s claim is reportedly contained in a scanty type-written statement which he volunteered to the investigators by proxy, in which he was said to have denied knowledge of N157million which was allegedly carted away from the budget office at the Police Force headquarters annex Lagos, on May 26, 2007, in nine Ecolac boxes.

Sources said the money was part of a huge sum left behind by Ehindero’s predecessor, Tafa Balogun in 2004, but had been instalmentally withdrawn until the fund depleted to N157million, which was carted away three days to Ehindero’s exit from office.

Although Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Jelili, who was then at the helm of affairs at the Lagos budget office has reportedly admitted that the money was actually carted away, he denied knowledge of where the money was taken, and for what purpose.

Jelili, according to sources, has further stated that the total sum of money which he knew was a left-over of the Tafa Balogun administration at the Lagos budget office was about N360 million, although it is suspected that the money was over N600 million.

Interestingly, Ehindero is said to have denied knowledge of the entire sum of money, even as authoritative sources confided in Daily Sun that there are documentary evidence linking him to the withdrawals. He has equally washed his hands off the N21 million which was being ferreted away from the force headquarters before the bubble burst, saying the money was supposed to be handed over by Obaniyi to the new CP budget.

The investigators have also beamed their searchlight on a N70 million and N20million which were separately withdrawn from the N1billion given to the police for the last general elections for the purchase of vehicle spare-parts and fuel respectively, besides the N60 million which Ehindero allegedly allocated to himself as election duty allowances.

So far, the investigators have established the supply of some vehicle spare-parts to the police works department even though the exact amount used is yet to be verified as being up to N70 million, but the N20 million worth of fuel bought for the use during the elections had allegedly not been delivered as at last week.

In the meantime, investigators have intensified efforts to establish the whereabouts of the N157 million carted away from the budget office, indicating that the last may not have not been heard about the N21 million saga.

“Yes, the investigators are working seriously to unravel all that actually happened. Right now, they want CP Obaniyi to come and give further clarifications on the N157million, but he is nowhere to be found. He hasn’t shown up. We hope he will come and answer the questions.

“Again, it is true that the investigators have recommended that Ehindero be asked to refund the sum of N37million which Obaniyi claimed was withdrawn for PR on his orders. Since Obaniyi said he acted on his orders, it means both of them will have to refund the money”, said a source close to the office of the Ag. Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro.

However, Ehindero has denied knowledge of the N37 million PR money and other issues in a telephone interview with Daily Sun at about 5.15pm on Sunday.

Excerpts:

Daily Sun: There is this N37million you are being asked to refund. Are you aware of it?

Ehindero: Ah, I don’t know about that.

Daily Sun: But they said the investigators made the recommendation?

Ehindero: Ah, I have not heard about that.

Daily Sun: But they said you’ve sent a type-written statement to them?

Ehindero: Ah, I don’t know about that. I don’t know about it.

Daily Sun: Which means they have not asked you anything since this investigation started?

Ehindero: No, no, no. I don’t want to talk about it. Please don’t lead me into talking about it, I have nothing to say.