*Osinbajo heads probe panel
By; SUNDAY ODE, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday ordered the immediate suspension of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) David Babachir Lawal and the Director General of National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Ayo Oke from office.
Buhari also appointed a three-man panel headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to probe allegations of abuse of office against the two officials of government.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.
According to the statement, the committee which also has the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami and National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno as members is to submit its report in two weeks.
Babachir Lawal has been indicted by the Senate over contracts he awarded to his company in the Northeast development programme.of the federal government, while Oke may have been consumed by the controversial N15 billion found by the EFCC in a Lagos apartment, which he allegedly claimed belonged to the NIA.
The statement read: “President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered an investigation into the allegations of violations of law and due process made against the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr David Babachir Lawal, in the award of contracts under the Presidential Initiative on the North East (PINE).
“The President has also directed the suspension of the SGF from office pending the outcome of the investigations.
“In a related development, the President has ordered a full scale investigation into the discovery of large amounts of foreign and local currencies by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a residential apartment at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, over which the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has made a claim.
“The investigation is also to enquire into the circumstances in which the NIA came into possession of the funds, how and by whose or which authority the funds were made available to the NIA, and to establish whether or not there has been a breach of the law or security procedure in obtaining custody and use of the funds.
“The President has also directed the suspension of the Director General of the NIA, Ambassador Ayo Oke, pending the outcome of the investigation.
“A three-man Committee comprising the Hon. Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, and the National Security Adviser, headed by the Vice President, is to conduct both investigations.
T”he Committee is to submit its report to the President within 14 days.
“The most senior Permanent Secretary in the SGF’s office, and the most senior officer in the NIA, are to act, respectively, during the period of investigation.”
