…Police return files, money, others to Goje —Presidency

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

ABUJA —Senate Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan, has given assurance that the 2017 budget estimates would be ready next week, baring any last minute eventuality.

He said the passage of the document this month was stalled due to the recent police raid of the house of the Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Danjuma Goje.

Joint public hearing on 2017 budget

Speaking to State House correspondents after a private meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday, Lawan said apart from some sensitive budget materials that were carted away from Danjuma’s house during the raid, he (Goje) was also traumatized afterwards.

Lawan, however, said there was no cause for alarm over the issue, adding: “There is nothing to worry about. NASS had intended to pass the budget in March but because of some parameters that we had little or no control over, we couldn’t pass it in March.

“I am thinking that by next week, by the grace of God, we should be able to finish our work and pass the budget to Mr President to sign.”

His mission to Villa

On his mission to the Villa, the Senate Leader said he was there to lobby for greater synergy between Legislature and the Executive.

He said:  “As the Senate Leader, l have the responsibility to market all our bills and requests in the Senate and, therefore, this is my second move in the Villa.

“Therefore, I have come to meet Mr. President as part of my continuous engagements to be sure that l get my briefings right so that l can always market presidential requests so well.”

Police return files, laptops, money, others to Goje

Meanwhile, the Presidency said, yesterday, that the Police have returned to Senator Danjuma Goje, all relevant documents needed to process and pass the 2017 budget, files, laptops, money and other items seized from his house when it was invaded by the police, following a tip-off by a whistle-blower.

According to the Presidency, all the issues involving the Police, Goje’s house and by extension, the Senate and the National Assembly, have been resolved.

The position of the Presidency was contained in a statement signed, yesterday, by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang.

Goje’s aide confirms return of documents

Also yesterday, Mohammed Danjuma, an aide of the senator, confirmed to journalists that the Police, yesterday morning, went to the 10,  Haile Selassie Street, Asokoro, Abuja, residence of Goje to return the seized items.

According to him, the Police, who came in mufti, arrived the Asokoro residence of the senator at 11am to return the items.

Danjuma said: “The Police have returned 19 files, a bunch of 18 envelopes, one folder, other documents, the N18 million, $19,000  and 4,000  Saudi Riyals and all they carried away have been returned to Senator Danjuma Goje.”

It was also gathered that besides returning all the seized items, the Police pleaded with Goje to allow the matter end so as not to further strain the relationship between the Presidency and the Senate.

The action of the Police, yesterday, came barely 24 hours after a meeting held between the Senate leadership and the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, at the National Assembly over the invasion of Goje’s house.

However, explaining its role in the raid, especially as it related to the allegation of Senator Goje that document containing 2017 Appropriation Bill were taken away, the Police said, yesterday, that it only recovered suspected monies and some files from the Abuja residence of the senator.

Noting that Goje’s claim was a distraction aimed at perverting justice, Police spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, said in a statement yesterday:  “A search warrant duly obtained from court of competent jurisdiction was professionally executed in the house of Senator Danujma Goje on April 20, 2017, at No 10 Haile Salasie Street, Asokoro District Abuja which was subsequent upon intelligence report at the disposal of the force that large sum of money suspected to be stolen public funds and other incriminating items are about to be moved out of the said house.

“It is worthy of note that on arrival of the police team to Senator Danujma Goje’s house, the house keeper, Ango Usman, informed the senator of the presence and mission of the team and he promised coming but later switched off his phone.

“The search warrant was successfully executed in the presence of three close relatives of Senator Danjuma Goje who are residing in the house and the recoveries were made in their presence.

“The three relatives listed below opened the house and took the police team round the building, and endorsed their signatures after the completion of the search as required by the procedure of law on search warrant which contained   the money, documents and laptop recovered, and none of the items include 2017 budget document. This is available for inspection by any interested members of the public.”

The police listed the monies they recovered in the raid as ¦ 18,056,000, $19,850 and 4000 Saudi Riyals.

“The Nigeria police force wishes to state categorically that there was no single document relating to 2017 budget sighted or removed by the police team that executed the search warrant. There is video recording of the execution of the search warrant.

“The Nigeria police force sees the report in the media credited to Senator Danjuma Goje as a deliberate distraction to cast aspersion on police investigation to pervert the end of justice,” Moshood said.