The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offices Commission (ICPC) has discredited a report by Daily Trust Newspaper which claimed that a plan had been hatched to exonerate offenders tagged “loyalists” and those it claimed have been recruited under the current Board.
The anti-corruption agency made this known in a statement by its spokesperson, Mrs. Azuka Ogugua.
The statement reads:
“The attention of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offices Commission (ICPC) has been drawn to an inaccurate report titled “Certificate, Age Scandal Rocks ICPC” published on Monday, 15th November, 2021 by the Daily Trust Newspaper.
“The Commission strongly refutes in its entirety attempts by the newspaper to malign the Hon. Chairman and Board members with spurious claims that a plan had been hatched to exonerate offenders tagged “loyalists” and those it claimed have been recruited under the current Board.
“This is therefore to set the record straight regarding the ongoing certificate verification exercise by the Commission, as the report by the Daily Trust seems intended to undermine the reforms being undertaken by the current leadership of the ICPC.
“The certificate verification exercise commenced in 2019 with the request by the current Board for screening of all officers by the Department of State Services (DSS). The verification by the DSS is aimed at making the process independent and transparent. The exercise is on-going and not yet concluded. Verification exercises have been conducted in the past by the DSS, and therefore the current exercise is not a new one.
“Another routine verification exercise in all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) was commenced by the Federal Government through the IPPIS earlier in the year, to clear discrepancies in public service personnel records.
“The Commission created an in-house team to carry out verification of its staff records as supplementary to the one set up by the Government.
“This internal verification exercise is still on-going and no report of anomaly has yet been received from the Committee by the Board. That being the case the issue of “soft landing” therefore does not arise and the Daily Trust’s report is preemptive and erroneous.
“The Commission will act on the findings and recommendations of its Verification Exercise Committee, including prosecution of offenders, where necessary.
“The newspaper’s claim that “agitations for the Commission to beam its searchlight on its staff also heightened with the case of an ex-female staff that left the ICPC to join the NDIC but was later sacked upon discovery that she was parading forged credentials” is also inaccurate. It needs to be unequivocally stated that the case of the ex-female staff occurred prior to the assumption of office by the current Board.
“The ICPC will not be distracted by sponsored reports in the media, and threats to the Board as it will continue to execute its mandate and reforms in the Commission without fear or favour.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
