Alleged Party Primaries Bribe: DSS Submits Report On Oshiomhole To AGF

The Department of State Security Service, DSS has submitted a report of its findings on its investigation of the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN) for review, Saturday Sun reliably gathered in Abuja yesterday.

The embattled party chairman was recently summoned for interrogation by the leadership of the secret police following allegations financial inducement and compromise in the conduct and outcome of the recently held APC primaries. The party leadership was accused of collecting bribes in millions of dollars to favour particular aspirants who eventually emerged as candidates particularly in Imo and Ogun states among others.

After being granted bail, Oshiomhole traveled out of the country and returned on Friday last week and thereafter granted media interviews to deny the allegations against him. Some of his friends and supporters have fingered some aggrieved APC governors like, Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun; Rochas Okorocha of Imo; and Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo among others as the brains behind the DSS probe, an allegation the governors have equally denied.

A reliable government official familiar with the probe told Saturday Sun in Abuja yesterday that the DSS has since submitted the report of its findings to AGF Malami for review and appropriate legal advice.

According to the source, “I’m aware the Minister of Justice, is on the case. He may take it over or die naturally. The outcome of the review of the DSS investigative report by the office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation in few days ahead, will decide Oshiomhole’ s faith.”

When Saturday Sun contacted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC late yesterday to confirm whether it has also gotten a copy of the report for further investigation, the anti-graft agency through its spokesman, Tony Orilade said the Commission is not investigating Oshiomhole on the bribery allegation.

“We, therefore, don’t have a say as to the status of the allegations or the stage the investigation is at the moment, if at all there is such. If and when we are availed with such petition of financial impropriety, the EFCC, being a responsible anti-graft agency, will surely do the needful,” the agency’s spokesman stated.

Efforts to speak with the AGF on the probe report up till 9:30pm yesterday proved abortive as his phone numbers were switched off while text messages sent to him were also not replied.

It was however gathered that some of the aggrieved governors are still pressing on with their plan to oust the party chairman, a plan President Buhari and some other APC leaders may not be favourably disposed to because of the instability that will cause three months to a general election in which the president is standing for re-election. One of the governors accused of being behind the plot had told Saturday Sun the allegation is baseless. “No doubt, we have been having meetings with the president but our visits have nothing to do with Oshiomhole’s probe. We are only interested in securing the president from some deadly traps because what is happening now is of serious concern to the president. For instance, if we allow them to undermine Amosun in Ogun, fine, Amosun may lose but the president will also lose. This is their game plan. That was the same mistake President Jonathan made and we are trying not to allow President Buhari fall into the same trap”, the governor had stated.

Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti had also dismissed the allegation against some of them as baseless. “We have nothing to do with his ordeal, nobody should link us to it please”, he stressed and pleaded to be left out of the conversation.