By Caleb Anyasina

ABUJA — The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, has ordered the Police Service Commission, PSC, to refund to the government treasury N133.4 million of the N350 million it received from the Federal Government for the monitoring of the conduct of the 2015 elections.

Local representatives of the Nigeria Independent National Electoral Commision (INEC) collate figures from the general election in Port Harcourt, capital of Nigeria’s southern oil-rich Rivers State, on March 29, 2015. Nigeria’s closely fought general election went into a second day after failures in controversial new technology snarled the polling, including for President Goodluck Jonathan. AFP PHOTO (File Photo)

The ICPC, which investigated the allegation of fund diversion levelled against its chairman Sir Mike Okiro, said although it did not find any act of criminal infraction against him, the balance of the money must be returned to the government.

The outcome of the ICPC investigation, which was obtained by Vanguard, last night, indicated that while the PSC under Okiro budgeted and collected money for 900 police officers and men who were to be trained in Lagos, Kano and Abuja, only 391 staff were actually trained in Abuja.

The commission also directed that N11 million, which was collected by staff who pretended to have travelled out of Abuja by air but actually monitored election within Abuja and its environs, be returned with immediate effect to the federal treasury.

The report of the investigation dated August 6, 2015 with ref. No. ICPC/Inv/GBP/HOD/352 and addressed to the Permanent Secretary Police Service Commission, said the commission had carried out thorough investigation into the allegation of corruption, abuse of office and fraudulent act to swindle the PSC to the tune of N275.5 million raised against Mike Okiro

According to the ICPC report, “the Police Service Commission (PSC) received the sum of N350 million from the Federal Government to monitor the conduct of police personnel in the recently conducted general election. The commission budgeted to expend the fund on training and physical monitoring during the election.

“Investigation findings revealed that the commission budgeted for training of 900 staff and to conduct training in Abuja, Lagos and Kano. However, the entire staff force was not more that 391 and that is the figure actually trained in a programme held in Abuja only.”