CSOs ask Nigerians to disregard alleged bribery allegation against officials

At least 259 Civil Society Organisations, CSOs under the aegis of the Coalition for Transparency and Economic Reforms (COTER) have urged Nigerians to disregard the “allegations” of corruption levelled against some lawmakers, the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu,l and other government agencies. The CSOs said Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan, should not be taken seriously […]

At least 259 Civil Society Organisations, CSOs under the aegis of the Coalition for Transparency and Economic Reforms (COTER) have urged Nigerians to disregard the “allegations” of corruption levelled against some lawmakers, the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu,l and other government agencies.

The CSOs said Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan, should not be taken seriously as he’s working in collaboration with some politicians and their foreign collaborators to cause chaos and destabilise the country.

According to COTER, Gambaryan’s bribery allegations were aimed at instigating widespread hatred for Ribadu, the security agencies and ultimately the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.

The Coalition, who stated this in a statement yesterday warned of secret plans by Binance to “surreptitiously cause chaos in Nigeria through these false allegations,” adding, “The company’s major aim and objective is to sabotage and destabilise Nigeria.”

Gambaryan, who was detained for eight months in Nigeria over alleged corruption, had in a post on X on Friday, raised the allegations of bribery against the Nigerian officials and security agencies.

In another post on X on Saturday, Gambaryan again reiterated his corruption allegations against the Nigerian officials and security agencies.

However, COTER’s statement jointly signed by its President, Dr Peter Chima Chukwu and General Secretary, Mallam Auta Ibrahim Koko, described Gambaryan’s allegations against the three lawmakers, the NSA, the DSS and the EFCC as “unfounded and unsubstantiated,” saying the Binance executive and his collaborators “meant much more than just the corruption allegations.”

“Their major objective is to cause chaos and ultimately destabilise the country,” it added.

COTER noted that nothing but blatant and unsubstantiated lies can be expected from a discredited financial company like Binance, a firm that has been banned and heavily fined by courts in many countries across the world for various illegalities, gross infractions and financial crimes perpetrated through its notorious operations.

The coalition’s statement partly read, “That we’re appalled by the unfounded gargantuan allegations levelled against the three Nigerian lawmakers, the President Bola Tinubu-led administration, the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by Binance executive, Gambaryan, is, to say the least, an understatement. Of course, the Nigerian government and the three lawmakers mentioned by Gambaryan have swiftly denied the allegations as baseless and false.

“Also, the two Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigators mentioned by Gambaryan – Saad Abubakar and Bello Hamma-Adama – we’ve discovered, were uncompromising and very professional in their conduct throughout their investigation of the Binance officials, contrary to the wild allegations now made against them. In fact, the two EFCC officers were very thorough and effective in detecting all the infractions, vices and financial crimes perpetrated by Binance against Nigeria.

“Mentioning NSA Ribadu as part of the bribery allegation has also been found to be a figment of the infantine imagination of Binance and Gambaryan. The NSA, it has been found out, had no direct contact with Binance and Gambaryan before and throughout the period of his detention in Nigeria.

“So, his claim that Ribadu needed money to prosecute an election during that period is hollow and doesn’t have any iota of truth. There was infact no any election ahead for Ribadu or anyone to contest during that period. So, this allegation is unfounded, a blatant lie by Gambaryan.”

COTER noted that Binance and Gambaryan made the bribery allegations because they “are still smarting from their ban from operating their dubious and discredited business in the country due to its misadventures, which constituted economic crimes and sabotage against the country.”