The unceremonious removal of former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC boss, Nuhu Ribadu from office and the persecutions that followed had been linked to his refusal to marry one of the daughters of late President Umaru Yaradua and his “dragging” of a woman with a supposed most powerful man in Yaradua’s government, Taminu Yakubu Kurfi by former. President Olusegun Obasanjo in his new controversial book, My Watch established the link.
The former president also revealed in the book that the fight between former FCT minister, Nasir El rufai and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Babagana Kingibe has to do with one of the wives of the former scribe to the FG.
In the height of Ribadu’s travails in the hands of the Yar’ adua administration, he was removed as EFCC chairman, demoted to the rank of Deputy Commissioner of police from Assistant Inspector General and eventually dismissed.
Though, it was originally believed that Ribadu was being hounded by the administration because of his recalcitrant insistence on continuing with the prosecution of James Ibori, former governor of Delta state and Yar’Adua’s close ally.
Though OBJ did not dismiss the link, he nevertheless said Ribadu’s refusal to marry Yar’Adua’s daughter could have contributed his travails then.
Throwing on why Ribadu fell out with Taminu Yakubu Kurfi, Obasanjo wrote that Kurfi had his eyes on a woman who was said to be more interested in the former EFCC chairman.
“It was revealed, for instance, that Tanimu’s main reason for wanting to fight Nuhu to a standstill was the allegation that a woman he was interested in marrying was showing more interest in Nuhu! I understand that Tanimu, in the end, married the lady and I wondered if that would be the end of the war of attrition against Nuhu.
“This was about the same time that Umaru encouraged Nuhu to marry one of his daughters, an idea which Nuhu spurned. Could that have been partly responsible for Umaru’s fury?
On El rufai-Kingibe’s affair, Obasanjo alleged that Babagana Kingibe had a personal fall-out with Nasir el-Rufai over the infidelity of one of Kingibe’s wives.
OBJ wrote: “The Kingibe case as revealed is quite similar to Tanimu’s, as a woman is at the centre of it also. Nasir el-Rufai was accused of knowingly harbouring a boyfriend of one of Kingibe’s wives in his guest house, where this wife and her boyfriend would meet.
“If Nasir chose to make his house available to his friend out of hospitality, one wonders if he could also determine which guest, male or female, his friend would receive. It would have been a different case if Nasir himself was accused of dating Kingibe’s wife!”
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