MAG Fights EFCC Chairman Over Omatseye’s Intergrity

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Former DG, NIMASA, Barr. Temi Omatseye

Maritime Advocacy Group (MAG), a coalition of Industry Journalists, Ship owners and Critical Stakeholders, has frowned at the malicious statements of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ibrahim Magu on the former DG Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Barr. Temisan Omatseye.

Ibrahim Magu, during an interview published on The Nation newspaper of Saturday May 28, 2016 stated that “… former Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Temisan Raymond Omatseye who got five years for a N1.5billion contract scam, are some of the 140 convictions the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has secured in six months”.

MAG posited that the EFCC chairman should have stated what transpired at the Federal High Court, FHC, Ikoyi, Lagos in his comments.

“We expected the chairman of the Nation’s anti graft Agency to have called for the Judgement file or sort the opinion of his legal team on the judgement before coming out to misinform Nigerians, the media and the general public on a case ‘that is more of a persecution than prosecution” MAG stated.

“There was no N1.5bn fraud. This figure is a figment of the imagination of his persecutors. As a matter of fact the embattled former DG NIMASA, as at the time he was suspended from office left more than N52bn in NIMASA’s account. An amount he grew from the N20bn his predecessor left in the agency’s coffers.

According to the evidences in the court and from the 27 count charge against him, the amount when computed comes to about N90million and not the N1.5bn the public is made to believe.

“It is pertinent to note that nowhere in the judgement is Temisan Omatseye found guilty of any fraud. Not to talk of misappropriation of funds. No where again was it mentioned that he was guilty of any criminal offence. The EFCC’s IPO in his statement and evidence stated that no fund belonging to NIMASA was traced to the embattled former DG’s bank accounts” the report added..

According to MAG, Justice Rita Ofilli-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi Lagos, only found Omatseye guilty of approving contracts above his threshold and the matter is already subject to appeal.

MAG further noted that Temisan Omatseye had always stated in his statements and in court proceedings that the said threshold was never officially transmitted to him as at the time the said contracts were awarded.

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