Nigerian Concord Newspaper
Benue Anti Corruption Watch, BACW, has accused the suspended Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Benue state, Mr. Bemsen Mnyim of working under the directive of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume to destroy the administration of Governor Hyacinth Alia.
The anti graft group which works directly with the EFCC and ICPC made this revelation in a press statement signed and made available to journalists in Abuja this morning by its president, Barrister John Tion Esq.
According to the group, Senator George Akume who nominated the suspended commissioner for Governor Alia last year had reportedly instructed him to join the suit of some state governors for the scrap of the EFCC and ICPC by President Bola Tinubu.
The group said that the original plan was for Akume to use Benue state’s involvement in the suit which is against President Bola Tinubu’s policy to cause a bad blood between Governor Alia and the president just like he caused crisis between Former Governor Samuel Ortom and former President Muhammadu Buhari while he was Minister for Special Duties.
The group wondered why a state commissioner for Justice (Bemsen Mnyim) would join a suit which was instituted by some “corrupt” governors to scrap the Nigeria’s anti graft agencies without informing his principal or without the authorization of his principal (Alia).
According to the group in the statement, Mnyim’s action clearly showed that he was working for Senator George Akume to destroy the governor and make him look as if he is attacking the anti corruption crusade of the federal government under President Bola Tinubu.
The group which lauded Governor Alia for suspending the erring commissioner also urged him to find a replacement immediately. “In our investigation, we discovered that Barrister Mnyim has been using his position to support Garnishee Orders against the state government and would later collect kickbacks from the plaintiffs. Why will the governor want to reinstate a man who has turned his state to a Garnishee state within a year and half” Barrister Tion added.
“It is on our record that the suspended commissioner had at many times arranged people to get Garnishee Orders against the governor and would later go to them to get bribes running to several millions of Naira. We have all the documents and we are ready to prove these allegations once he is arrested by the EFCC for questioning” he said.
The statement also reads: “The suspended commissioner has been accused of poor arrangement of lawyers to defend the state government when it comes to the issue of Garnishee just because he wanted to get kickbacks. He has also not been attending to state issues as required, and perhaps that was why he joined those governors to institute that case for the scrap of the EFCC and ICPC. It’s now clear that he has things to hide from the anti graft agencies hence his joinder in the suit to scrap them”
The group however called for the immediate arrest of the suspended commissioner whom they said had orchestrated some fraudulent acts while in office as Attorney General of Benue state without the knowledge of the governor.
The Benue Anti Corruption Watch advised other state governors to follow the step of Governor Alia to join hands with Nigerian anti graft agencies to stop corruption in the country.