The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has denied embarking on political war against those opposed to "the powers that be."

The EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, made the clarification on Monday in Abuja at a workshop on Economic Crimes Reporting for journalists.

He said that the notion that the agency had been going after those  out of favour with the powers that be was the creation of the media.

He said, "Even in the midst of contrary evidence, a section of the press has been so swayed by this stereotype that they are unwilling to shift to their gaze.

"Our activities won't be determined by who does what with government. We are not going to be drawn into political issues. We are doing our job and we will continue to do our job. We want the understanding of the journalists," he said.

Explaining why the commission was withholding information on some of its activities, Lamorde said sometime people were invited just to confirm certain facts and not because they had been found guilty.

He said, "If at the early stage of investigation it is just to confirm certain facts, we don't want to give it publicity until we are sure. Anybody can be invited for questioning.

"At times, publicity affects the direction of investigation and the main investigation itself. Maybe it is this individual information that you want to use to get to other level of investigation. Once it is mentioned, other people are alerted. You know in Nigeria, somebody can set this building ablaze because he wants to cover up his track, records can be destroyed; people can even be killed.

"So many things could happen. We are not saying we don't want to give this information; it is a question of trust. I don't think there is a deliberate effort on our part not to release information."

Lamorde regretted that individuals who had been indicted by previous administration or declared not fit for public office still found their ways back to government because nobody remembered or investigated their past.

He blamed this on poor reading culture and the need for the media to be more conscious.

Meanwhile, former Kwara Governor, Bukola Saraki appeared at the commission on Monday to write statements on his alleged role in the collapse of the Societe Generale Bank. Though  he was allowed to go home, Saraki would return to the EFCC today (Tuesday) for further interrogation.

Saraki, a former executive director of the bank had on August 12 and 13 reported at the commission but was allowed to travel to attend to a sick family member.

The Senator representing Kwara Central District in the upper chambers is also facing interrogation over the control and management of the state funds during his eight-year reign as Kwara Governor.

Contacted, the EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren simply said, "He was with us today (Monday)."

He, however, declined further comment.

The Central Bank of Nigeria had withdrawn the operational licence of the SGBN in 2005 due to its inability to comply with a July 2004 circular mandating all banks in Nigeria to increase their capital base to N25bn on or before December 31, 2005.

The licence was, however, restored in 2010 following a court's judgment nullifying the action of the CBN.

The immediate past Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum is also being investigated over allegations of abuse of office and money laundering.