Family accuses EFCC of plot to kill detained Jonathan's cousin

Members of the family of Mr. Azibaola Robert, the detained cousin of former President Goodluck Jon­athan, have accused the Econom­ic and Financial Crimes Commis­sion (EFCC) of plotting to kill their breadwinner.

Robert, who is the Manag­ing Director of One-Plus Hold­ings Limited, was arrested by the EFCC on March 23, 2016 over a $40 million pipeline security con­tract awarded to his firm by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) during the ten­ure of detained Col. Sambo Das­uki (rtd)

At the press conference in La­gos on Sunday, Robert’s younger brother, Dr. Faith Robert, said there was sufficient reasons to believe that the EFCC was out to kill his brother because he failed to “manufacture evidence against former President Goodluck Jon­athan.”

He described Robert’s con­tinued detention by the anti-graft agency after an Abuja High Court had granted him bail on April 7, 2016 as a pointer to the sinister plans by the EFCC to harm him.

According to Faith, “in EFCC custody, Robert has been repeat­edly bullied, harassed, threatened and psychologically traumatised to either implicate Goodluck Jon­athan or be ready to face the Das­uki treatment.”

He continued: “Some have even taunted him to get his cous­in, former President Jonathan to beg President Muhammadu Bu­hari to release my brother, if Jon­athan indeed has any clout.”

Faith, a medical doctor, al­leged that the EFCC claimed that “my brother holds enough evi­dence that can lead to the arrest and prosecution of Jonathan be­fore May 29, 2016 and must pro­duce such by all means.”

He accused the EFCC of ad­ministering psychoactive drugs on his elder brother.

Faith said: “As a trained med­ical doctor, I have begun to ob­serve significant changes in my brother’s demeanour, counte­nance, coordination and cogni­tion,” stressing that, ”in fact, my brother’s personal physician told me that these conditions men­tioned above could be indicative of a systematic poisoning with psychoactive and other lethal drugs by the EFCC operatives.”

He described the remand order by an Abuja Magistrate’s Court which EFCC relied upon to detain Robert of expiring on April 19, 2016 and that the com­mission had no right to approach a Lagos Magistrate Court for an­other remand order after a high court sitting in Abuja had grant­ed the company chief bail and a production warrant.

“It is unfortunate that the EFCC, an organisation created by an Act of Parliament, has con­tinued to treat the order of a High Court of competent jurisdiction with contempt,” Faith said, and challenged the commission to ei­ther charge his brother to court or release him unconditionally.

The family requested for a full toxicological examination of Rob­ert’s blood in at least three inter­nationally recognised laboratories in three different countries to as­certain the level of possible poi­soning by the EFCC operatives and get an international expert to conduct comprehensive psy­chological assessment.