News: N78M Fraud: How Bayelsa DPP Shield Speaker, Others from Prosecution

Three months after the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Bello Adoke, directed that operatives of the Special Fraud Unit, SFU, proceed with prosecution  of the Speaker, Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Hon. Konbowei Benson, the Clerk, Aaron Nicodemus and others, for misapplying the sum of N78Million/$473,000, the trial is yet to begin.
A top Police source at SFU told our correspondent in a telephone interview that the Bayelsa State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice through the office of the Director of Public Prosecution, DPP, is doing everything possible to frustrate the case.
“Since five months ego we received the directive from the Attorney General of the Federation to proceed with the prosecution of the Speaker and other members of the Assembly, we have made several attempts to go ahead with the proceeding but all our efforts are being frustrated by officials of the state judiciary.”
Asked if the latest development has been reported to the Federal Attorney General, the Police detective answered in the negative, but insisted that it would not serve any purpose as the state must play active part in the prosecution of the Speaker and others. The former Commissioner of Police (CP) Special Fraud Unit (SFU) Tunde Ogunsakin, had said in an interview that he was ready to prosecute the Speaker, the Clerk and other indicted members of the Assembly for defrauding the state government.