The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) has disclosed that several former ministers, current top government officials and senior public office holders at both federal and state levels are under investigation by the bureau.
Naijaonpoint reports that this was disclosed by the CCB Chairman, Dr Abubakar Bello, during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.
He, however, stopped short of mentioning the names of those under investigation in order to avoid a media trial.
The CCB boss emphasised that the bureau is apolitical in its operations and nobody is above the law.
“We have started investigating high-profile individuals. There is a former minister we have already taken to court.
“Right now, we are investigating another former minister and also a serving top government official.
“I won’t mention names because we are still at the investigation stage. We don’t want to turn it into a media trial,’ he said.
Bello added that the Bureau had already secured interim forfeiture orders from the courts on some of those under investigation.
He added that the CCB prefers to work away from media scrutiny so as to avoid public condemnation before evidence is established.
“From my experience working with the EFCC, sometimes people write frivolous petitions.
“Once the media starts reporting it, the person is already labeled corrupt.
“But, if investigations later show he is innocent, his name is already damaged. That is why we only speak when we are ready to go to court,” he said.
According to him, asset declaration remains the core tool of the bureau’s work.
“Every public officer is required to declare assets at the beginning and at the end of their tenure. It is within this window that corruption is detected.
“If you declare your assets at the beginning of your tenure and we verify it, we don’t have any issue with you again until the end of your tenure.
“But if at the end of your tenure you suddenly move from ₦10 million to ₦200 million and you cannot explain the source of that increase, that is where we come in,” he explained.
Bello noted that investigations are not limited to asset comparisons alone but include investigations into petitions and allegations against members of the public and public servants.
“If there is a petition against you, we investigate.
“If we find that you did not declare your assets or cannot explain the source of your income, we will take you to court,” he said.
The CCB boss highlighted that the bureau faces a series of structural and operational challenges, including limited manpower, funding and reliance on manual systems, but reiterated their resolve to making impact in the efforts to rid the country of corruption.
“We are talking about 4.5 million public servants in Nigeria. We cannot investigate or verify all of them with the resources.
“To manage this, the bureau has adopted a risk-based approach, focusing its limited resources on high-risk and high-profile individuals where the impact would be greatest.
“That is why it may look like we are selective, but it is not about protecting anyone.
“It is about using scarce resources wisely to get the highest results,” he explained.