SOCIETY WATCH By Adebayo Adeoye
What does a man who has put in several years in the public service deserve in retirement? Peace of mind, constant rest and possibly more time to nurse some dreams as well as greater devotion in worship of his Creator. But since he retired as Comptroller-General of Nigerian Customs Service five years ago, respite seems far away from Alhaji Abdullahi Inde DIkko.
For some time, there have been a lot of doubts about his professed integrity owing to several allegations that have been levelled against him. His accusers are unrelenting in their onslaught with a view to compelling the embattled CG to explain his actions while in service. Society Watch learnt that, though the Katsina State-born Customs Chief remains unperturbed over the allegations, his accusers have vowed to spill the beans.
Among his sins, according to the group, was the alleged certificate forgery, which was said to have given him a great deal of psychological trauma.
But it seems the retired CG can now breathe a sigh of relief, as a court, penultimate Wednesday, dismissed the fraud charge brought against him and two others by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC).
The dismissal was sequel to an oral application for the withdrawal of the charge by the ICPC’s lawyer, E. A. Sogunle.
Dikko was named in a fraud charge with former Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of Finance, Administration and Technical Services, Garba Makarfi, and a lawyer, Umar Hussaini.
They were accused of inducing the Managing Director of Cambial Limited, Yemi Obadeyi, to pay the sum of N1,100, 952,380.96 into the account of Capital Law Office as a refundable “completion security deposit” for the purchase of 120 units of duplexes as residential accommodation for officers of the Nigerian Customs Service. The prosecution had accused Hussaini of distributing the said sum into various other bank accounts allegedly at the instance of Dikko. It will be recalled that Dikko was also enmeshed in an elongation scandal since the expiration of his tenure on August 18, 2013. He was appointed a substantive Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs on August 9, 2009 by the late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua
