Convinced that successful prosecution of suspected perpetrators of pension fraud is panacea to the trend, Centre for Humanity (CfH), a pro-pensioners Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), recently took the police to task on the prosecution of a former member of the House of Representatives, Nze Chidi Duru, who is in police net over alleged involvement in armed invasion of the head office of First Guarantee Pension Limited, writes CHIZOBA OGBECHE
Non-payment of pensions to pensioners in the country is fast becoming an acceptable trend often as a result of misappropriation of pension funds hence the campaign by Civil Society Organisations and other well-meaning Nigeria’s against it.
For this group identified as pension stakeholders, the trend can be curbed by ensuring that cases of pension fraud are judiciously prosecuted and perpetrators brought to book.
In line with this, the stakeholders have called on the Nigeria Police Force to ignore what it described as “sudden illness” in detention of the former member of the House of Representatives, Nze Chidi Duru, who is in police net over alleged armed invasion of the head office of First Guarantee Pension Limited (FGPL), a pension fund administrator.
Duru was arrested and detained by the police on January 12, 2017, over alleged armed invasion of the head office of the FGPL situated at No. 65, Kudirat Abiola Way, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos, in the company of some armed men, including two police officers on illegal duty on Wednesday, January 11, 2017.
However, he was said to have taken ill, having slumped in police detention at the weekend.
The stakeholders through the Centre for Humanity (CfH), a pro-pensioners Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), raised doubts on the health of the former parliamentarian and advised the police to hasten and to charge him in the interest of justice.
CfH in a statement by its spokesperson, Ngozi Ogbu, said: “We have no doubt that he is only playing pranks to gain a breather and disappear, once again. We advise the police and members of the public to ignore Duru’s theatrics and charge him to court immediately in the interest of justice and pensioners.”
Recalling several incidences of alleged breach of bails in the past, the stakeholders said “Chidi Duru’s sudden slump is a mere theatric and prank to hoodwink the police and avoid arraignment.”
While commending the police for promptly addressing the alleged armed invasion of the premises of the pension administrator, they maintained that “a crime against pensioners is a crime against humanity.”
They reminded the police that the former lawmaker was allegedly “in the habit of jumping bail.”
The statement read in part: “We readily recall that in 2012 the former Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. MD Abubakar released Chidi Duru on bail when he was arrested over alleged theft of N20 million belonging to the First Guarantee Pension. But he vanished and later sent from hiding an injunction restraining the police from arresting him or charging him to court.
“We recall that the police declared him wanted in a gazette entitled “Nze Chidi Duru ‘M’: Wanted by the Office of the Inspector-General of Police, Louis Edet House, Abuja” and marked CR: 3000/GP.SEC/MU/TB/ABJ/21/02/13.
“The gazette partly read: ‘The above named person is hereby declared wanted by the Nigeria Police on C.R.O Form 5, Issued by the Office of the Inspector-General of Police…. He is wanted for the offence of conspiracy, forgery, theft, and cheating. Method used in committing the offence is that suspect illegally diverted the sum of N20 Million Naira, which belong to First Guarantee Pension Limited.”
The group also recalled that the suspect’s brother, Ugochukwu Duru, was declared wanted in the same gazette for the same offences.
According to them: “We also wish to remind the police that Chidi Duru was previously arrested in connection by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2011 in connection with alleged crimes against the First Guarantee Pension, but was admitted to administrative bail in October 2011. His relative, Mrs. Christie Chinyere Ekweonu, currently the Director of Legal Reporting at the Federal Ministry of Justice, was his surety.
“Unfortunately for the woman, the EFCC ended up arresting her around 10:15am on 11th May 2016 and detained for some time, when Chid Duru vanished and refused to come out to face his charges.”
The CfH, also claimed that Nze Duru repaid the M.K Ahmad-led national Pension Commission (PenCom) in bad coin in 2011 when it acceded to the former lawmaker’s pleas for soft-landing in the form of voluntary resignation over alleged indictments against First Guarantee Pension, but only to use the reprieve to go to court against PenCom and the company.
“Even though he voluntarily retired vide a letter dated 21st July 21, 2011, he used the opportunity of the reprieve he got to go to court against PenCom, thereby opening a floodgate od litigations currently before several courts, including the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal,” the group said.
The Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the First Guarantee Pensions Limited (FGPL) on its part has explained how Hon Duru allegedly invaded the PFA with armed men.
A statement by the pension administrator stated: “In the early hours of Wednesday, January 11, 2017, Nze Chidi Duru in company of armed gunmen invaded the company’s Head Office situated at 65 Kudirat Abiola Way, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos, disrupted the operations and held members of management, staff and customers of the PFA hostage.
“The IMC of FGPL is glad to inform the esteemed clients of the PFA and the general public that the Nigeria Police had swiftly intervened to restore normalcy and security in the PFA’s office and Nze Chidi Duru and his cohorts arrested for further investigation and necessary action.
“Nze Duru had alleged that PenCom had not complied with the terms of a Judgment, the execution of which he knew to have been stayed and with a pending appeal before the Court of Appeal. Furthermore, the invasion was without recourse to his pending appeal to the Supreme Court challenging his removal as director of the PFA and praying for an order of judicial review of PenCom’s removal order.
“The IMC of FGPL was indeed embarrassed by the incident and regrets the trauma and physical assault occasioned on its staff by the erstwhile director who invaded the Head Office with armed thugs.
“The desperate efforts to confiscate the personnel files of his siblings currently facing criminal investigations, lap tops, official vehicles and physical demand for money to pay his hotel expenses was disgraceful conduct by the former legislator. It is specifically an act of contempt of pending court processes on the subject matter of his removal.
“The IMC would like to inform our esteemed clients that normalcy has been restored in the Head Office of FGPL and business has since resumed. We further assure the clients that the incident has no impact on the pension funds under management of the PFA, which remains safe and secured in the custody of our Pension Fund Custodian (PFC).”
Sources within the police said Duru may be arraigned on five-count charge this week, however, when contacted by journalists, the Lagos state Police Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Badmus, confirmed that the former parliamentarian had taken it but explained that he had been given necessarily medical attention.
According to the spokesperson, “Yes, he claimed that he fainted and we have well-equipped hospital. He is being treated. We will soon charge him to court.”
