Secondus writes EFCC, again denies collecting money from Dasuki

National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, has insisted he did not collect any money, either directly or indirectly, from former national security adviser (NSA), Col Sambo Dasuki (retd).
In a letter addressed to the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, Secondus complained bitterly over the continued linking of his name among those who allegedly collected money from the former NSA boss “when nothing of such ever happened.”
Secondus, through his lawyer, Emeka Etiaba (SAN), in a letter REF NO: EESE&C/2/03/05/1 and dated May 3, 2018, titled “Re: Mention of Prince Uche Secondus on the list of looters of Nigeria’s economy” and copied to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) as well some foreign missions in Nigeria, insisted that he never collected or sent anybody to collect money on his behalf, at any time, from the former NSA.
In a statement from his Media Adviser, Ike Abonyi, Secondus feared that the continued listing of his name among looters might be a deliberate ploy by the Commission, to implicate him and scandalise his name, in a desperate attempt by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), to suppress him and “dent the credibility of our great party which is being rebranded by him.”
The letter also reminded the EFCC that the issue concerning Secondus is already in court, and wondered why the commission should not approach the court with its evidence, if any, “than continuously indulging in the media trial.”
The attention of EFCC was drawn to the suit before the Chief Judge of Rivers State, in Port Harcourt, where an interlocutory order was granted against the defendants and same restrained them from further publishing the name of Secondus.
The letter also drew the attention of the commission to the injunction order published in the dailies as ordered by the court, a copy of which was attached to the letter to the commission.
The letter said: “The said publication by the minister has become a subject matter of Suit No: PHC/1013/2018, in Prince Uche Secondus Vs. Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Federal Government of Nigeria and Vintage Press Limited (publishers of The Nation). The above suit is pending at Court 1, High Court of Rivers State, Holden in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and same has been adjourned to the May 28, 2018, for hearing.
“Having regard to the fact that the subject matter has become subjudice, and having drawn the attention of the commission to the facts contained in this letter, it is our hope that the subsisting order of court should be obeyed, and if the commission has evidence of collection of money from the office of the NSA by our client, (as an agency of the federal government, which is the second Defendant in Suit No: PHC/1013/2018), the commission should avail such information to the federal government for its defence of the suit.
“Our client wishes, for the umpteenth time, to state that he neither collected money from the office of the National Security Adviser nor instructed anybody to collect money on his behalf. He also wishes to state that he never had a Special Assistant by name Chukwurah, who is being touted as the one who collected N200,000,000.00 on his behalf.”
Finally, the letter said: “Our client hopes that the ongoing scandalisation of his name is not a ploy by the commission to give effect to the desperate attempt by the federal government to intimidate him and destroy his credibility and that of the PDP as well as other opposition leaders, as the general elections approach in the pretext of war against corruption.”
-Sun