The pioneer chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu, had distance himself from a statement purported to emanate from him giving insight into the origin of banditry in the country.
Recall that statement allegedly credited to the former EFCC boss had alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari recruited bandits to oust former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.
The statement further alleged that Mr Buhari had sought the services of the mercenaries, who were recruited from neighbouring countries, to claim power for the Fulani group in case he loses the 2015 presidential election.
However in a statement sent to DAILY NIGERIAN on Thursday, Mr Ribadu said: “For the avoidance of doubt, I have never at any time wrote or said those words being attributed to me.
“I have no knowledge of the details contained in the disjointed propaganda message in circulation and I urge the public to disregard it.”
The statement read in part: “Around mid last year, a brainless message purportedly emanating from me started circulating. The statement shared around social media platforms attributed to me devilish insinuations on alleged origin of banditry in parts of Nigeria.
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“I initially ignored what was clear inanity and cheap blackmail as I thought no right-thinking person will fall for such mischief. However, when it persisted, on July 17, 2019, I issued a disclaimer on my Twitter handle to disown the viral message.
“But to my chagrin, over six months after the initial rebuttal, the manufacturers of the hateful message and their co-travelers, those who peddle whatever is capable of creating disaffection are back at it.”
Mr Ribadu, therefore, appealed to security agencies to investigate the genesis of the fake message and fish out the perpetrators.
“Purveyors of fake news, more so one that is clearly a threat to national security should not be allowed to thrive,” Mr Ribadu stressed.
