A businessman/politician and
environmentalist, Alhaji Suleiman Yerima narrates how he was detained and
tortured for 80 days by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) while he was incarcerated by them.
In a petition addressed to President
Muhammadu Buhari, Yerima detailed the inhuman treatment he got in the hands of
the EFCC operatives and how he and his friend, Mr. Uwem Antia were battered in
a torture cell operated by the EFCC in Lagos in collaboration with the police.
He said he survived the ordeal only by the grace of God.
He said his ordeal bagan on
March 3 while he was out of Lagos on a business trip. He said EFCC operatives
called him and invited him and his friend, Antia, who he claimed is currently
in a critical condition as a result of the injuries he sustained during the
series of torture they received while in the custody of EFCC operatives.
He said:
“I honoured the invitation by
going to EFCC with Mr. Antia in company with my lawyers. On arrival, I was
shown the petition. In the petition, the petitioner alleged that he gave me
N120 million to source for dollars for him and that I have not given him the
dollars,” Yerima explained.
He said he told the operatives
that he had made the payments and had documented evidence to prove it. He said
despite his attempt to explain and show evidence of transactions, he was
detained along with Mr. Antia.
“While in detention, we were
denied bail by Iliyasu Kwarbai, the Director of Operations of EFCC in Lagos.
EFCC hurriedly rushed to a magistrate court in Lagos on March 12 and obtained a
detention warrant for 30 days. This was nine days after our initial detention
without any charges filed against us. Later, Mr. Antia was handcuffed and taken
to their torture chambers. Antia later told me they blindfolded him and hung
him from 11pm till the early hours of the morning.
“My life is in danger and these
people are out to kill me. I want the whole world to know that. The president
should set up a panel of enquiry and if I am found guilty, I am ready to go to
jail. But this injustice must stop. EFCC officials are busy making money for
themselves. They are more corrupt than the corrupt politicians. They are
rotten. They give you bail conditions you cannot meet and then ask you to
negotiate,” he alleged.
However, the EFCC, denied
Yerima’s claims. The spokesman of the anti-graft agency, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren
said the claims were unfounded and should therefore be disregarded by the
public.
He said:
“Alhaji Suleiman Yerima and Mr.
Uwen Antia were on March 6, 2015 arrested by operatives of the EFCC for
allegedly stealing the sum of $2,250,000 (two million, two hundred and fifty
thousand US dollars) from two bankers. Their arrest followed a petition by
Aginwa Gladys and Ale Dennis on February 17, 2015
The suspects allegedly
approached the bankers: Gladys Aginwa and Ale Dennis in February, 2015,
offering to sell foreign exchange to the tune of $10,000,000 USD to them.
“After agreeing on the exchange
rate, a sum of N672, 750, 000 was transferred from BlueBeam Capital Investment
Limited and Capital Field Investment and Trust Limited into the account of one
of the bankers: Smiles and Light Limited. It was from the banker’s account that
the entire sum was moved into Antia’s account: Kafisto Oil and Gas Limited.
“Findings showed that the
entire sum of N672, 750,000 actually hit Antia’s account. A Bureau de Change
operator who changed the money into its dollar equivalent, told EFCC’s
investigators that he went with Antia to his bank along Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi,
Lagos, where the transaction was confirmed. The Bureau de Change operator
further said that, Antia subsequently transferred the sum of N666, 250,000 into
his own account.
He said he worked out the dollar equivalent of the money,
which was $3,127,000 (three million, one hundred and twenty-seven thousand
dollars). He said he could only give $3,124,000 to Antia, leaving a balance of
$3,000 which he promised to give him the next day.
“Immediately Antia collected
the foreign exchange, he reportedly headed for No. 17A, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi,
Lagos, where the two bankers and his accomplice, Suleiman were waiting for him.
However, rather than hand over the entire foreign exchange to the bankers, he
only gave them $1,000,000 (one million dollars), claiming that he could not
source the entire amount. He allegedly promised to give them a balance of
$2,250,000 (two million, two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars) the next
day. This balance would be the dollar equivalent of the entire sum of the
transaction (N672, 750,000).
“The bankers said that since
the day Antia and Suleiman gave them the initial $1,000,000, all efforts to
reach them had proved abortive. ‘Their cell phones were turned off,’ they said.
However, they lodged a complaint with the EFCC and operatives of the commission
eventually arrested the two fraudsters.”
Source: The Daily Sun
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