Former Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara State today failed to turn up at the Special Anti-Fraud Unit of the Nigeria police in Lagos five days after he was summoned to appear to answer questions pertaining to his involvement in an alleged N11 billion bank loan fraud.
Mr. Saraki, who is currently a member of the Nigerian Senate, had been expected to visit the anti-fraud unit to respond to allegations about the involvement of his companies and aides in a scheme that cost InterContinental Bank billions of naira in unpaid debt.
Police investigators want to establish whether Mahmoud Lai Alabi, a former CEO of the bank, allowed his ties to the Saraki family to influence his questionable and curious decision to write off billions of naira owed to the bank by businesses owned by the Sarakis.
Part of the investigation arose from a petition by the family of Matthew Obahor, one of former Governor Saraki’s aides, who died mysteriously. Some members of Mr. Obahor’s family believe the former aide was killed because he sought to blow the whistle on the deals between the Saraki family and InterContinental Bank.
When SaharaReporters broke the story last week, Senator Saraki fired a quick response denying any involvement in the scam. He claimed that one of the companies that owed money to the bank actually belonged to Mr. Obahor, his deceased aide. He also contended that Mr. Obahor had died of natural causes.
A source within the anti-fraud unit told SaharaReporters that investigators were dismayed by the senator’s absence this morning. “It has been five days since the senator wrote the [anti-fraud] unit to give him more time to appear for interrogation,” said the source, adding, “yet he has refused to come.”
Mr. Saraki was first expected to appear before the police last Friday. Instead, he sent a letter claiming he was attending the burial of a close relative.
A source said the senator just wanted to buy time to enable him to obtain a fraudulent court order to stop the police and also to use that as an excuse to reach the Inspector General of Police, M.D. Abubakar. The IGP once served as a police commissioner in Kwara State during the governorship of Mr. Saraki.
Last week, the Special Fraud Unit arrested Mr. Mahmoud Lai Alabi for allegedly writing off several billions in bad loans owed by Saraki and several of his businesses. Mr. Alabi once served as a former chairman of Tsonga Farms (owned by the Sarakis) before Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, appointed him to run InterContinental Bank as part of the apex bank’s efforts to reform beleaguered banks.
Asked what the police would do next, now that Senator Saraki had spurned their invitation, our source at the anti-fraud unit sighed, then said, “It’s the ogas (bosses) who have to decide.”
By SaharaReporters
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