House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Job Racketeering has issued a warrant of arrest on Haruna Kolo, a former staff of the Federal Character Commission (FCC) who allegedly acted as a middleman for the selling of employment slots at the commission.
The Hon. Yusuf Gadgi led -Committee issued the warrant at its resumed hearing on Wednesday when Kolo, now a staff of the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) for the third time failed to appear.
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Kolo had in first appearance on Monday told the lawmakers he had been collecting between N1million to N1.5 million for the FCC chairman, Dr Muyeebat Dankaka, from individual applicants before he left the commission in January this year.
“The FCC Chairman instructed me to liaise with one Mr Shehu who is a personal driver and PA to the Taraba State commissioner. Shehu is the one that brought those who paid money to my account for a job, some paid N1 million others N1.5 million all to my personal account, my Eco bank account.
“She (Dankaka) asked me to give cash to her which I did through POS so there is no evidence of transfer or anything,” he said.
While issuing the warrant, Gagdi said if Kolo does not show up for the probe, he would be brought in by the security agencies, and instructed his current employer, AMCON to produce the staff for the probe.
AMCON and the other agencies billed to appear for the Ad-hoc Committee failed to turn up, forcing the panel to adjourn sitting abruptly.
The chairman who frowned at the government agencies avoiding the probe, said: “We have made our position very clear and we have resolved to further communicate through newspaper communications today and tomorrow for these agencies to make sure they have cause to appear before this Committee.
“And we are going to make our position very public in various dailies and television stations beginning from tomorrow giving agencies the last warning that they should appear before this committee on Monday unfailingly from Monday to Friday. All our witnesses that we have equally asked them to be here are going to appear before us on Monday and Tuesday in continuation to this hearing.
“Yesterday, we asked Haruna Kolo and some other personalities. Are they here? They are not. I think agencies would begin to see the other side of this committee from Monday by the special grace of God.
“We are going to rewrite, we are making newspaper publications, we are going to make television announcements, so that we see if they do not watch TV or they do not read newspapers, if they claim that letters from this committee have not reached them. We should do just that and give them the benefit of the doubt.
“We are people’s representatives. So, we would not be in a hurry to make any decision. For Haruna Kolo, the position of this committee is that he would lose his freedom. We will issue a warrant of arrest in respect of Haruna Kolo and compel security agencies to present him before this committee at any given period if he is so arrested.
“So, this committee would communicate officially to the various security agencies and to AMCON in addition to communication that we have sent to them yesterday for Haruna Kolo to be presented here unfailingly by either the security agencies or by AMCON themselves. And the committee to approve that warrant of arrest would be issued in respect of Haruna Kolo.”