THE presidential campaign organisation of Vice-President Atiku Ababukar, on Saturday alleged the arrest of the Director of the youth wing of the body, Mr. Timi Frank, by operatives of the State Security Service.
A statement by the Atiku Campaign Organisation claimed that Frank was arrested, on Friday, in front of the residence of a leader of the Action Congress, Chief Tom Ikimi, in Benin, the Edo State capital.
The statement, which described Frank as a good mobiliser and highly respect Niger Delta youth leader, claimed that he had been moved to the SSS headquarters in Abuja on Saturday.
It added that though no reason had been given for the arrest, there were speculations that his arrest might not be unconnected with his bravery that prevented some hoodlums from disrupting the presidential campaign rally of Atiku, held in Benin, on Friday.
�The Atiku Campaign strongly condemns this resort to thuggery and gangsterism as well as the use of state security agencies to harrass, intimidate and terrorise the opposition. The organisation calls for the immediate release of Frank,� the body stated.
When our correspondent called the spokesman for the SSS, Mr. Ado Muazu, on the telephone on Saturday night, he pleaded that he was not aware of the arrest of Frank by his men.
Meanwhile, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, has declared that it had not cleared the governor of Kano State, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau over allegations of corruption.
In a letter dated February 10, 2007 and signed by the Chief of Staff to EFCC, Mr. Dapo Olorunyomi, the commission denied media reports that it had issued a clean bill of health to the governor.
A copy of the letter sent by e-mail to Sunday Punch at 9 pm on Saturday showed that the commission copted Shekarau�s to his party, the All Nigerian Peoples Party.
The EFCC wrote, �We are writing to strongly refute the wild claims credited to you via the front page story of The Guardian of February 9, 2007 and the Sun Newspaper of same date], that the EFCC has cleared you of graft charges and that you received a clearance bill from the Commission.
�As you very well know, these claims are untrue, and border even on criminality to the extent that the referencing details of the Commission was fraudulently deployed in this brazen case of forgery (Section 362 of the Penal Code Act); forgery of public seal (S. 365 of the Penal Code Act); and using as genuine a forged document under S.366 of the Penal Code Act.
�The Commission also trusts also that you are aware of the full implications of these offences. Brandishing the alleged clearance letter from the Commission on Friday, you reportedly told a rally crowd in Kano that the EFCC, through its Chief of Staff, had written to say there was �No misappropriation of one kobo and no fraud� established against you.
�With due respect, Your Excellency, this may be taking political anxiety beyond the frontiers of moderation and proportionate reason. In any case, it would be impossible to clear you of indictment because in the first instance, the EFCC is not in the business of clearing candidates.
�Secondly, your alleged offences coupled with other ongoing investigations against you, like the massive N4 billion scam associated with the importation of fertilisers which, as you will recall, was allegedly unilaterally awarded to contractors lacking track records; with no executive council approval nor legislative appropriation, yet through which the state suffered severe financial hemorrhage; but which thanks to the spirited efforts of the EFCC which has helped recovered N1.8 billion so far, as well as the operation of foreign accounts, would have made the prospect you so desperately wish for at this time, simply impossible.�