• Accuse ICPC Persecutors Of Compromise

The Consolidated Capital Market Stakeholders Forum (CCMSF), at the weekend, expressed concern over the recent acquittal of Mounir Gwarzo and Zakawanu Garuba, suspended Director General and Executive Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of corrupt charges by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court.
This is even as the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) prepares to appeal the ruling by Justice Husseini Baba Yusuf, setting the duo free on a five-count charge bordering on corruption and abuse of office.
A statement by CCMSF President, Umar Usman described the ruling as a miscarriage of justice, saying Gwarzo illegally paid himself N105m severance benefit, while still in the service of the SEC.
The verdict, he said, “amounts to a clog in the wheels of President Muhammadu Buhari’s avowed efforts at tackling the menace of corruption in Nigeria,” wondering why the report of a panel of inquiry set up by the Federal Government on the matter indicting the suspended Director General was overlooked by the trial judge.
The judgment, he continued, is “grossly inimical to the culture of corruption-free society which President Buhari and our forum are striving so hard to enthrone in the Nigerian capital markets and Nigeria. It is instructive to note that capital markets world over thrive on integrity”.
Unimpressed by the announced plan to file a notice of appeal, the forum accused the ICPC prosecutors of compromising the case by handling it with levity and in an unprofessional manner.
It also expressed concern over the ICPC’s decision to charge Gwarzo for “only the alleged illegal collection of severance package; while in fact, the Report of the Administrative Panel of Inquiry set up by the Minister of Finance had recommended that the ICPC charge Mr. Gwarzo for several alleged offences which border on fraud, abuse of office and gross violation of several provisions of the Public Service Rules.
“Our Forum is aware that the report was forwarded to the ICPC by the Federal Ministry of Finance for necessary action”, Usman stressed further.
The CCMSF assured that it “has sighted the Report of the Panel of Inquiry which seriously indicts Mr. Mounir Gwarzo and we intend to make the report available to the investing public in due course.”
The forum however referred to Section 8.0 (Summary of Recommendations) on Pages 38 and 39 of the report, where the panel headed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance recommended that Gwarzo be “directed to refund the sum of N104,851,154.94 only, which he illegally collected as severance package.”
Among others, the panel also recommended that the suspended DG be “dismissed from the Public Service of the Federal Government for holding the position of a Director in private companies (Medusa Investment Limited and Outbound Investments Limited) while in service as the Director-General of SEC in breach of PSR 344, PSR 030402 and Section 6 of the Investment and Securities Act 2007.”
It was also recommended that the matter “be referred to the ICPC for further investigation of the allegation of using his position as Director-General to influence the award of contracts to Outbound Investments Limited in view of the provisions of Sections 57 (12) (b) and 58(5) of the Public Procurement Act, 2007;
iv) should be dismissed from the Public Service of the Federal Government, in line with PSR 030402 (in relation to the allegation on Golden Handshake), having breached paragraphs 313 and 316(4) of the Financial Regulations (Government Notice No. 291 of the 27th October, 2009) (engaging in extra-budgetary expenditure without appropriate approval).”
Rather than continue to play politics with the matter, the forum called for “the immediate dismissal of Mounir Haliru Gwarzo from the service of the Federal Government as recommended by the Panel of Inquiry and that the relevant anti-corruption agencies be directed to immediately prosecute him for the above-mentioned offences, as prescribed by the relevant laws, rules, and regulations which he has violated.
“Anything short of this will amount to the relevant institutions working against President Buhari’s efforts at fighting corruption in Nigeria” the group stressed.