The Coalition of Public Interest Lawyers and Advocates, COPA  has, again taken up the matter of  alleged forgery and financial crimes involving the Minister of State, Mines and Steel, Uchechukwu Ogah with Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC  urging it  “that the case file against Mr. Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah be revisited and revised for immediate action.

“That the EFCC invite Mr. Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah and Mrs. Bridget Adeosun - the petitioner, for proper probe and prosecution"

COPA had earlier  in February 28, 2020  written the EFCC acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu,  on behalf of its client, demanding  that the petition and investigation of Mr Uchechukwu Ogah for forgery and other financial crimes be revisited and properly addressed.

The group stated that it gathered from the complainant, Mrs Bridget Adeosun, that no action had been taken on the case by the anti-graft commission almost two months after it sent a reminder dated February 28, 2020 to the agency on the petition against the minister.

Ogah had denied the allegations of forgery and financial crimes levelled against him.

But the Principal partner, COPA, Pelumi Olajengbesi, in a letter dated May 20, 2020, demanded that the forgery allegations against the minister should be revisited and investigated.

In 2011, the Managing Director, Mut-Huss Petroleum Ltd., Bridget Adeosun, had petitioned the EFCC alleging that Ogah forged her signature on a document to validate a nonexistent Memorandum of Understanding between his company, Masters Energy Oil & Gas and Mut-Hass Petroleum.

Ogah was arraigned by the police, but the case was reportedly withdrawn at the instance of the then Inspector-General of Police to allow detectives to gather more evidence. The matter was subsequently shelved.

Adeosun, thereafter, petitioned the anti-graft agency which immediately invited Ogah for interrogation.

However, the investigation has since stalled prompting COPA to send reminders to the EFCC on the matter.

The letter, addressed to the EFCC acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, read in part, “We refer to our letter dated February 28, 2020, to your office where we, on behalf of our client, demanded that the petition and investigation of Mr Uchechukwu Ogah for forgery and other financial crimes be revisited and properly addressed.

“As of the time of writing this reminder, we were reliably informed by our client that no action had been taken in that regard as no prosecutorial action has been taken against the said minister.”

When asked for update on Adeosun’s petition, EFCC's Head, Media and Publicity,  Dele Oyewale, pleaded for time to get information on the case. He did respond  to further calls subsequently