The suspects, who are close associates of the former Chief executive Officer of Oceanic Bank, Mrs. Cecilia Ibru, are wanted in connection with the ongoing investigation in the banking sector.
A statement by EFCC spokesman, Mr. Femi Babafemi, stated, "They are wanted for offences bordering on conspiracy, aiding and abetting, and money laundering running into billions of naira".
Explaining that they were declared wanted after all efforts to get them to honour the commission's invitation failed, EFCC enjoined anyone with useful information that could lead to their arrest to contact any of its offices in Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Gombe, Port Harcourt or Enugu.
Meanwhile, the commission has clarified that its appeal to the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) was devoid of blackmail, threat, arm twisting or castigation of any kind that would warrant the position put forward by the bench.
The anti-graft agency was reacting to a report credited to the National Publicity Secretary of the NBA, Murtala Abdulrasheed.
The report, which appeared in some newspapers on Friday, claimed that a recent statement by the Chairman of the EFCC, Mrs. Farida Waziri, calling on members of the bench to be cautious in granting ex-parte applications by bank chiefs and debtors currently under investigation by the commission was an attempt to blackmail the judiciary.
A statement signed by the EFCC spokesman stated, "The commission cannot understand how a harmless appeal to the bench not to allow itself to be used as an instrument to frustrate the investigation of bank executives and debtors would translate into blackmail and arm twisting.
"Interestingly, Abdulrasheed concedes that the word 'frivolous', which appeared to have incensed him, is freely used by all legal practitioners. Why then would its usage by Waziri, a member of the bar, rake up any storm except that there is an agenda which the commission hates to suspect?"
Babafemi explained that what the EFCC chairman said amounted to nothing but a plea to the judiciary.
"There was neither any undercurrent, express or implied, of any threat whatsoever, castigation nor blackmail that would warrant the position put forward by the NBA. In fact, our courts in a litany of cases have deplored the unrestrained use of injunctions in all forms of proceedings as noted in the case of N.A.B. Kotoye Vs Central Bank of Nigeria &7 Ors (1989) 2 S.C (Part1) 1".
Further, the commission described as unfair and untrue Abdulrasheed's claim that the NBA "does not begrudge Mrs Waziri's commission the right to re-awaken from its long slumber in matters not affecting evidently corrupt former governors in which it has been evidently complicit in their escape from the long arms of the law", pointing out that Waziri does not handle the briefs of ex-governors.
The EFCC stated that while it valued NBA's support and collaboration in the anti- graft war, such support should come in form of constructive criticism.
"The allusion to the commission waking up from its slumber is unwarranted and baseless. A commission that has secured about 70 convictions and made recoveries in excess of N50 billion in one year can't be said to be asleep", it said.
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