…Insists he collected no money
National chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus has written a letter to the acting chair of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, warning him to stop linking him with money collection from the former National Security Adviser, NSA, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retd), saying nothing of such took place .
Secondus through his counsel, Emeka Etiaba, SAN in a letter REF NO: EESE&C/02/03/05/1 and dated 3rd May, 2018 titled “Re: Mention of Prince Uche Secondus on the list of Looters of Nigerian Economy,” and copied to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation as well some Foreign Missions in Nigeria, insisted that he neither collected nor directed anyone to collect money on his behalf from the former NSA.
In a statement issued by his media aide, Ike Abonyi, the PDP boss said the continuous listing of his name might be a deliberate ploy by the commission to implicate him, in a desperate attempt to distract him from repositioning his party ahead of the 2019 polls.
The letter also reminded the EFCC that the issue concerning Secondus is already in court, wondering why the commission would not await the outcome of the legal process. The letter also drew the attention of the commission to the injunction order published in the dailies prohibiting the publication of Secondus’ name as one of the alleged looters, as ordered by the court, a copy of which was attached to the letter to the commission.
The said publication by the Minister has become a subject matter of Suit No: PHC/1013/2018 in Prince Uche Secondus vs. Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Federal Government of Nigeria and Vintage Press Limited (publishers of The Nation Newspapers). “The above suit is pending at Court 1, High Court of Rivers State, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and same has been adjourned to the 28th May, 2018 for hearing.
Having regard to the fact that the subject matter has become subjudice and having drawn the attention of the commission to the facts contained in this letter, it is our hope that the subsisting Order of Court should be obeyed and if the commission has evidence of collection of money from the office of the National Security Adviser by our client, (as an Agency of the Federal Government which is the 2nd Defendant in Suit No: PHC/1013/2018), the commission should avail such information to the Federal Government for its defence of the suit.
Our client wishes for the umpteenth time to state that he neither collected money from the office of the National Security Adviser nor instructed anybody to collect money on his behalf. “He also wishes to state that he never had a Special Assistant by name Chukwurah who is being touted as the one that collected the sum of ₦200,000,000.00 (Two hundred million naira) on his behalf.
Our client hopes that the ongoing scandalization of his name is not a ploy by the commission to give effect to the desperate attempt by the federal government to intimidate him and destroy his credibility and that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as well as other opposition leaders as the general elections approach in the pretext of war against corruption,” the letter read.
