High Street

A former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, his wife and children have recovered three properties worth about N500m from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, SUNDAY PUNCH has learnt. The properties include four terrace houses located at 44 Mamman Kotangora Crescent in the highbrow Katamkpe Extension area of Abuja; a parcel of land in Guzape District and a duplex at Olori Mojisola Onikoyi Avenue, Ikoyi, Lagos. Our correspondents, who visited the properties on Thursday, observed that the erstwhile red paint inscription, ‘EFCC, Keep Off!’ had been wiped off on the walls of the buildings. Obanikoro, who defected to the All Progressives Congress from the Peoples Democratic Party about a year ago, was under investigation along with his two sons for alleged money laundering. The ex-minister was accused of receiving N4.7bn from the Office of the National Security Adviser under the leadership of Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.) in 2014. About N2.2bn out of...

Lere Olayinka, media aide of Ayodele Fayose, former governor of Ekiti state, has explained why his principal is yet to be released from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) custody. Mojisola Olatoregun, a judge of a federal high court in Lagos, granted a N50 million bail to Fayose on Wednesday. Fayose was asked to provide a surety with landed property in Lagos. The guarantor is also required to have three-year tax clearance in Lagos. In a tweet on Friday, Olayinka said Fayose met all the bail conditions by 2pm on Friday and would be hopefully released on Monday. He said all the necessary documents required for Fayose’s bail had been verified. “On Governor Fayose bail, as at 2pm today, all necessary documents were filed before the court and verified. Hopefully, he should be out of custody by Monday. We thank Nigerians for their support.” Source: theCable

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has assembled 22 witnesses to testify against the immediate-past Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, in court. The anti-graft agency is set to arraign the former governor before the Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday (today) for an alleged fraud of N2.2bn. It alleged that Fayose took possession of the money “to fund your 2014 gubernatorial campaign in Ekiti State, which you reasonably ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: criminal breach of trust/stealing.” Among the witnesses lined up to testify against the ex-governor is a former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, and a former Group Managing Director of Diamond Bank Plc, Mr Alex Otti. Also to testify is Ayotunde Owope, said to be Fayose’s account officer. According to the EFCC, Owope opened a bank account for Fayose and “he will give evidence on how funds were transferred from one account into another.” Obanikor...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission will on Tuesday  arraign the immediate past Deputy Governor of Sokoto State, Mukhtar Shehu-Shagari, on an alleged fraud, The PUNCH can report. Shagari, who is a nephew of former President Shehu Shagari, allegedly took part in the sharing of N23bn ($115m) disbursed by a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, during the run-up to the 2015 presidential election. The money, the EFCC said, was meant to manipulate the outcome of the poll in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party as the money found its way into the bank accounts of scores of electoral officers who have since been suspended by the Independent National Electoral Commission. The commission alleged in the charge sheet that Shagari, who served as Minister of Water Resources under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, allegedly received N500m from the Diezani fund. One of the charges read that “You Mukhtar Shehu Shagari,  Ibrahim Gidado and Ibr...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested the lawmaker representing Akwa Ibom North-East senatorial district, Senator Bassey Akpan,  for allegedly receiving vehicles worth N303m from oil magnate, Babajide Omokore, who is under trial for alleged fraud. According to an EFCC report, Akpan while serving as a Commissioner for Finance under the government of Senator Godswill Akpabio, allegedly gave contracts to Omokore worth billions of naira. The vehicles were believed to be kickbacks. It was learnt that Akpan was arrested by the anti-graft agency on Tuesday. The EFCC Spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the arrest to our correspondent via a text message. On when the senator was arrested, Uwujaren stated,  “Yes, he was brought in yesterday (Tuesday).” An EFCC report revealed that the vehicles Akpan allegedly received from Omokore ranged from Range Rover luxury cars to campaign buses and trucks that were bought with the proceeds of fraud. The re...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission( EFCC) has traced 61 assets to former Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Oceanic Bank Mrs. Cecilia Ibru in Dubai in its ongoing tracking of looted funds. The assets include 41 shops, 16 mansions and four park towers. All the properties have been confiscated, but their sale is trailed by controversy because about $4,522,413.20 remain unaccounted for in the last seven years. Out of the over $7million purportedly realised from the disposal of the properties, the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria( AMCON) only received $3,278,238.69 from the proceeds. The controversy over the sales led to the EFCC’s interrogation of four AMCON officials and former head of the transactions, who is now with a bank. More bankers have been invited for questioning over how the proceeds were wired from Dubai into some individual and companies’ accounts in Nigeria. But the EFCC may watch-list a United Kingdom (UK) -based lawyer, who was engaged in...

Benny Peters the man declared wanted by the anti-corruption agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in the flurry of publicized statement surfaced in Lagos on Saturday, March 24, 2018. And wait for this…the EFCC couldn’t arrest him!. Checks revealed that the power to arrest the “wanted” oil man has been taken away from the anti-corruption agency. Peters had gone to court to challenge the agency for declaring him wanted without following due process. According to information monitored on thecapital.ng Peter is currently standing on the verdict of a court ruling that the agency can not declare anybody wanted without a court order of charging them for an offence to keep the EFCC at bay. And he insists, he is not guilty of any wrongdoing in face of all the talks about alleged involvement in the corruption mess in the oil sector that earned former petrol minister Diezani Madueke infamy, as well as alleged hands in opaque oil swap deals. Source: SocietyNow

The alleged corruption trial of a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Jumoke Akinjide, and two others continued on Friday before the Federal High Court in Lagos, with the testimony of an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, who investigated the case. The investigator, Usman Zakari, who appeared as the second prosecution witness in the case, narrated to the court how Akinjide and others allegedly took delivery of a cash sum of N650m in March 2015. He said Akinjide and two others collected the N650m cash at the Dugbe branch of the Fidelity Bank PLC in Ibadan on the standing instruction of a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke. Zakari said his investigation revealed that the N650m was part of a total sum of N23bn which Diezani warehoused in the bank. He said he found that the N23bn was the naira equivalent of a total of $115.01m, which Diezani collected from three oil marketers and one Lano Adesanya in the build-up to ...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission says the sum of N27bn, which formed part of the proceeds of the sale of Power Holding Company of Nigeria, was shared among top government functionaries in 2014. The EFCC disclosed this in a court paper filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja on December 5, 2017. The total sum of N27,188,232,208.20, allegedly looted by the named officials was said to be meant for the settlement of the insurance premiums for disengaged members of staff of PHCN. Among the top government officials, named in the alleged scam, were the then Chief of Staff to the then President Goodluck Jonathan, Brig. Gen. Jones Arogbofa (retd.); the then Accountant General of the Federation, Mr. Jonah Otunla; and the then Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Power, Dr. Godknows Igali. Others also named in the scam are a cousin to Jonathan, Robert Azibaola; a former Director-General, Bureau for Public Enterprises, Mr. Benjamin Dikki; and a former Minister of State for P...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested Dr. Ngozi Olojeme, the Deputy Chairman, Finance Committee of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation in the 2015 presidential election, The PUNCH has learnt. The suspect, who served as the Chairman of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund from 2009 to 2015, was, in June, declared wanted for allegedly diverting N69bn from the agency. Olojeme, who is also the widow to Felix Obuah, the late Chief Security Officer to Jonathan, was said to have fled the country shortly after her sacking by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. The suspect, who was also the convener of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme sub-committee on Public Works and Road Rehabilitation, finally reported at the EFCC on Monday after which she was detained. A detective at the commission stated, “After months of running, Mrs. Olojeme finally turned herself in. She is currently being detained and we have identified most of her properties.” The NS...

Recently, the Innoson/GTBank story has gained so much media prominence, especially following the arrest of the Innonson chairman a few days ago by EFCC. Though the case is pending in court, Innoson has taken the battle to social media. There have been numerous sponsored social media campaigns against the Bank such as #BewareOfGTBank and #WhatIsWrongWithGTBank. The company has also gone Television, with its owner, Dr Innocent Chukwuma granting an interview to TVC, where he claimed he had obtained a judgement of N8bn against the bank. He added that the bank pleaded with him over their inability to pay, and that he graciously offered to accept shares of the bank as payment. GTBank on their part has chosen to remain silent on the matter, perhaps trusting in the integrity of the legal system as against playing to the gallery. Many attempts by us to get the bank’s representatives to comment on the story has proven abortive. A staff of the bank who spoke under anonymity, stated “Irres...

Immediate past Senate President, David Mark, has described the allegation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission that he purchased his house in Apo Legislative Quarters Abuja illegally as “spurious, contrived and baseless.” Mark, in a statement on Tuesday by his Media Assistant, Mr. Paul Mumeh, said the EFCC or any other agent of government were chasing shadows as the property was duly offered for sale, bided for and he purchased it in line with the Federal Government’s monetisation policy, which was started by the administration of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo. He said, “I had the right of first refusal. Even if I did not purchase it, someone else would have. I am a law-abiding citizen. I did not flout any law. Curiously, four houses occupied by the then presiding officers of the National Assembly were offered to the occupants. “ All of us – I, as the then President of the Senate; the Deputy Senate President , Ike Ekweremadu; the then Speaker of the House of Representati...

Nigeria’s former Senate President, David Mark, on Sunday slammed the anti-graft agency, EFCC, for levelling unfounded and senseless allegations of fraud against him. The Nation newspaper had reported earlier in the week that the politician was a guest at the anti-graft office and was grilled by detectives. Mr. Mark confirmed being invited by the EFCC in a statement signed by his media aide, Paul Mumeh, on Sunday. He said he fielded questions relating to 2015 campaign finance for political activities in his home state of Benue. But he was particularly baffled about another question that bothered on alleged bribery of all Senate members in 2010. Mr. Mark was Senate President from 2007 until 2015 when the All Progressives Congress took control of the legislature. He, however, remained a member of the Senate, having been re-elected by his constituents in Benue South Senatorial District in 2015. He said they alleged that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) paid over N2 bill...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has confirmed an attack on the property of the acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, which resulted in the death of a policeman. The commission said this in a statement by its Spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, on Wednesday. The property is not the current residence of the EFCC boss who lives in Maitama. According to the anti-graft agency, the property, a farmhouse located in Karshi, a suburb of Abuja was attacked by gunmen by 10pm on Tuesday. The EFCC said although it would not want to speculate about the motive of the attack, it would not be intimidated by anybody as it continues to tackle corruption in the country. The statement added, “The unidentified men murdered a police sergeant on duty. The incident was the second such attack on the same farmhouse. “While the commission will not speculate on the motives for the attack or the sponsors, it wishes to state that the EFCC under the leadership of Ibrahim Magu will not be deterre...

Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Mounir Gwarzo The suspended director-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mounir Gwarzo, is facing at least two enquiries over his role as helmsman of the commission since 2015. Apart from the administrative enquiry ordered by the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, Gwarzo is also being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. EFCC wants to unravel the owners of the nine companies that were awarded contracts by the SEC under Gwarzo. They include Outbound Investment Limited, Medusa Investments Limited, Northwind Environmental Services, Micro-Technologies Limited, Tida International Limited, Outlook Communications, Acromac Nigeria Limited, Balfort International Investment Limited and Interactiven Worldwide Nigeria Limited. According to the EFCC, Gwarzo, his wife and other cronies allegedly used these companies to carry out illegal transactions in SEC. Gwarzo, 30 months o...