Musa Aliyu Dodges A Bullet

Musa Aliyu, the chairman of the ICPC and, according to Nasir el-Rufai, the weapon of choice in taking down political foes of the APC-led government, has himself just escaped a political entrapment that would have made him a target.

The ICPC boss was tasked with investigating the circumstances that led to the establishment of PFIPC, a fake agency headed by Adeniyi Adeyemi, who is now in police custody.

Before the ICPC was handed the assignment, the presidency had already declared the innocence of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila. A very short timeframe was also set for the investigation, suggesting that the idea was to put on a show rather than ensure accountability.

Aliyu did not disappoint. The takeaway from his preliminary report was that Adeyemi acted on his own without any insider. He forged the appointment letter he claimed had been signed by the Chief of Staff.

Revealing information the public already knew, the report blamed procedural weaknesses, verification failures, and gaps in inter-agency oversight, all of which Adeyemi exploited.

The only new recommendation was that unnamed agencies and individuals should face sanctions for negligence. The ICPC, it seems, was the agency really on trial. And it just gave itself a clean bill of health.