PROBE NDLEA, AC ADVISES FG

Lagos

Action Congress (AC) yesterday called for a probe of National Drug
Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), alleging that its special role is
being hampered by lack of internal control and corruption.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, the party noted that "when we called for a probe of the
Agency in an earlier statement over the shoddy handling of a huge
cocaine import from Brazil and activities of a jail evasion cartel
in the Agency, its Spokesman, Mitchel Ofoyeju, said we were ignorant
and denied any role by NDLEA or its staff in the prison evasion scandal.

"However, our investigations have revealed that National Committee on
the Reform of the NDLEA, set up by government in 2007, indeed found
some 'linkages between (NDLEA's) Directorate of Prosecutions, some
officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations
and those of Prison Wardens in the case of drug convicts not found in
prisons.

"The case leading to this discovery is that of Ejike Martins,
arrested in Abuja and who ordinarily would have been tried in Abuja,
was transferred to Lagos on the orders of Director of Prosecutions
and the then Director of Operations and Investigation, only for the
Ejike to be sentenced and not found in prison.

It was later discovered that hundreds of NDLEA convicts are not in
prison, following the prison audit ordered by Alhaji Giade.''The
Committee said out of the 143 drug convicts for the year 2006, 96 of
them were never brought to prison.

Similarly, another 101 drug convicts for the year 2005 were never
brought to the prison, bringing the total convicts evading jail to
197 within this period.AC said the Committee was unequivocal in
concluding, after its investigations, that the ''connivance of the
Directorate of Prosecutions with convicts who evaded prison terms
which were properly awarded by the Courts in Lagos is apparent.

"A good starting point in strengthening the Agency is to immediately
implement recommendations of the National Committee for the Reform of
NDLEA,'' AC noted.