N44 million Bribe Scandal: House rules against lie detector tests

Abuja – Following allegations made by the SEC DG, Arunma Oteh, against Herman Hembe namely that he, Hembe, sort of, kind of, not directly but sufficiently and succinctly enough, ask for a bribe, Herman has resigned as the Chairman House capital market committee and the EFCC has began a probe of the accusations.

Oteh sort of claimed that Hembe asked for a bribe of N44 million Naira on behalf of the committee probing SEC, and an additional bribe of N5million for himself. (He may or may not have told her, while allegedly asking for the bribe, not to tell the other members of the committee about the extra N5million for himself.)

Oteh made her claims during a live broadcast of the hearing, and were it not for Hembe sensibly commanding her to switch off her microphone, God only knows what else the unprofessional woman would have revealed.

The EFCC has since hinted that in the absence of secretly taped conversations, investigators will have to resort to the use of polygraph machines (commonly known as lie detector machines) to get to the bottom of the matter.

Sources claim that the rude and forward Oteh has in her usual uncouth manner implored the EFCC to go ahead and put her through the polygraph test first.

This new act of insolence is in addition to the effrontery she demonstrated when she wouldn’t allow a whole committee chairman and a man nonetheless, to shut her up during the heated hearing that led to the entire debacle.

As far as the use of lie detector tests are concerned however, the House committee on ethics has ruled against them pointing out that it is the House’s responsibility to make sure that tax-payers money is spent judiciously and the machines cost a lot of money.

Hembe has since indicated that he would never go against the wishes of the House.

-Jowo Mabinu