At this point, I am overawed by the impulse to weigh in, by way of this simple public statement, on Dr. Olu Agunloye as it relates to the probe into the Mambilla Power Project by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). It is to achieve two aims.
The one is to inform and reassure people who are worried about the gravity of the alleged offence and his whereabouts, and the other is to appeal to all Nigerians, especially the EFCC.
Towards these ends, I deem it sufficiently important to state that Dr. Olu Agunloye is neither in hiding nor on the run. Dr. Olu Agunloye walked into the office of the EFCC on December 13, and he has remained there since then.
I trust that this information will, despite, or even probably because of, his having been declared wanted, reassure his friends and the general public that he is in the custody of the EFCC and cooperating with them.
In his own words, Dr. Olu Agunloye described the declaration by the EFCC that he was wanted for fraud ‘as uncalled for’.
I know enough to add, for the very few who may not be conversant with him, that Dr. Olu Agunloye is a patriot who is wired to live and work with integrity. He has both virtues in such sufficient quantum, at least, as to not hide or run on this matter, or any, indeed.
Dr. Agunloye’s name evokes a pacific aura and a life devoted to high achievement in the public space, as befits a thorough intellectual. That point is best-driven home by the fact that a scan of the media shows that there is no celebration of his detention, an attestation to the way he is beheld by the public. That is gratifying.
Finally, I appeal to those who can hasten his release and that, in the meantime, he be dealt with in a truly professional manner, minding the rule of law.
*Oluwafisan Bankale, Former Editor, Defunct Sketch Newspaper, Fellow Nigerian Guild of Editors (FNGE), and Retired Diplomat, sent in this piece.
