The controversy surrounding the ownership of the N13bn ($43.4m, N23m and £27,000) found by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission at the Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, took a dramatic turn on Friday evening when Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and the National Intelligence Agency claimed ownership of the money.
The National Intelligence Agency on Friday said the money
belonged to it. A national daily had earlier reported that the money belonged
to the NIA. Sources at the agency confirmed to one our correspondents late
Friday that the money belonged to the agency and that it had written a formal
letter to President Muhammadu Buhari to claim ownership of the money.
Saturday PUNCH learnt that the NIA, which is Nigeria’s
foreign intelligence service, explained that the money, which was found on the
seventh floor of the building, was approved by former President Goodluck
Jonathan for covert operations and security projects covering a period of
years.
The money was said to have been released in bits during the
tenure of a former NIA director-general.
A source said that the cash was approved before the advent
of the Treasury Single Account.
He stated that the Director-General of the NIA, Amb. Ayo
Oke; the EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Magu; and the National Security Adviser,
Babagana Moguno, had met over the issue. A Presidency source also confirmed the
meeting to one of our correspondents.
The NIA source explained that when EFCC operatives stormed
the Ikoyi property on Wednesday, they were informed that the said apartment was
a safe house of the NIA from which discreet operations were carried out.
The EFCC boss, however, rejected all entreaties from the NIA
and entered the building, breaking the fireproof safes and taking the money. The
source, who wished to remain anonymous because he was not authorised to speak
with the media, said, “The money belongs to the NIA. It is for covert
operations and security projects covering a period of years.The DG has met with the President, he has explained
everything to him. The President asked him to put everything into writing and
he has done so.
“The entire chain of events was a big misunderstanding. That
place was an NIA safe house and you have to understand that the NIA carries out
discreet investigation in conjunction with many agencies across the world.
“On the day the EFCC men gathered around the house, the NIA
reached out to Magu to explain to him that the money was the property of the
Federal Government and the place was an NIA safe house. Unfortunately, the EFCC
still went ahead to break down the doors.”
But Wike, who described the claim that the cash belonged to
the NIA as balderdash, alleged that the immediate past governor of the state
and the current Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, kept the money
in the apartment.
As such, the Rivers State governor gave the Federal Government
a seven-day ultimatum to return the money to the state government or be ready
to face legal action.
Speaking with newsmen in Port Harcourt on Friday night, Wike
said the $43m was part of the proceeds from the sale of a gas turbine by the
immediate past administration, adding that the gas turbine was initially built
by the Peter Odili administration.
The governor further challenged the Federal Government to
set up a commission of inquiry to probe the source of the huge money found in
the flat, insisting that the funds belonged to Rivers people and should be
returned to the owners within seven days.
He said, “All these things they are saying that the $43m
belong to the Nigerian Intelligence Agency is balderdash. When did the NIA
begin to keep money in houses? As I speak to you now, the Federal Government is
so embarrassed.
“I want the President to set up a commission of inquiry. We
don’t want to fight anybody; they should set up a commission of inquiry or
return our money within seven days. If they don’t, we will take all necessary
legal actions and NIA will come and prove where they got the money from.
“The $43m is the proceeds of the sale of the gas turbine
sold by the immediate past administration. The gas turbine was built by the
(Peter) Odili administration. It (gas turbine) was sold to Sahara Energy.
“The turbine was sold for $319m. But as of May 2015, what
was in the account was $204,000. We will avail ourselves and we will be present
at the commission of inquiry expected to be set up by the Federal Government.
If we are invited, we will come. There is no contradiction in this at all, but
I know they (FG) will not agree.”
Wike maintained that he would complete the monorail project
if the Federal Government returned the $43m to Rivers State, adding that it
would be “projects galore” in the state should the money be returned back to
its original owner.
“Part of the money from the sale of the gas turbine was used
to fund the All Progressives Congress campaign. We are telling the world that
the money belongs to us. If they (FG) give us the money, I will complete the
monorail project,” he said.
When contacted, the media aide to Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, Mr.
David Iyofor, said he would react to Wike’s claim on Saturday (today).
The money has since been deposited into the account of the
Central Bank of Nigeria following an interim forfeiture order granted by a
Federal High Court in Lagos.
The court had also ruled that if the owner of the money did
not show up within 30 days, it would be forfeited to the federal Government
permanently.
EFCC keeps mum
All attempts to speak with the spokesperson for the EFCC,
Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, on Friday proved abortive as his phone indicated that it
was switched off while a text message sent to his phone was not responded to.
It’s a security issue –Presidency
When contacted, the Special Adviser to the President on
Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, directed our correspondent to the
security agencies said to have been involved in the matter.
“This is not a matter for the Presidency. It is a security
issue and I will advise you to get across to the agencies mentioned,” he said
on the telephone.
SERAP, CD, others hit EFCC for hiding owners’ identities
But socio-political groups, including the Socio-Economic
Right Accountability Project and the Campaign for Democracy, criticised the
EFCC for hiding the identities of the owners of the recently recovered funds in
Lagos and Kaduna.
SERAP and the CD, in separate interviews with Saturday
PUNCH, said that it was anti-democratic for the EFCC to shield the identities
of the owners of recovered money.
The SERAP Director,
Adetokunbo Mumuni, said, “Whatever information that the EFCC has about any
money abandoned or found in any place deserves to be released to the public. In
a democracy, there can’t be opaqueness. This issue affects public interest and
it is against the collective interest if the EFCC withholds the identities.
“The EFCC’s action will be contrary to public policy and
anti-democratic if the information is not released. What will happen if the
EFCC is not open is that it will give room for rumours, which is not good for
democracy.”
In his own remarks, the CD President, Usman Abdul, said,
“The EFCC of recent has just been playing to the gallery. The APC-led Federal
Government should not take citizens for a ride. After the denial of the
confirmation of the EFCC Chair, Magu, we have had several seizures in Kaduna
and Lagos states, without anybody having being identified as the custodians of
these monies.
“It is quite laughable that new notes of money, even hard to
get in banks, were found and the EFCC cannot disclose who committed such acts.”
On his part, the National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere,
Yinka Odumakin, said that it was unfortunate that Magu’s EFCC out of
desperation had thrown caution to the wind in the desperate attempt to be in
the news and excite the public.
He stated, “You found such volume of cash without any
attempt to find the owners and you start a cinema of exhibit. A sergeant IPO
who does that should be fired without benefits.
“You cannot tell me
that you cannot trace the title of a property in Ikoyi at Alausa in a matter of
hours .But it seems Magu is all about anti-corruption and seduction.
“If Magu fails to disclose the owners of the money, it means
that the anti-corruption war has become a ‘night of a thousand laughs.’”
Also, the Executive Secretary, Anti-Corruption Network,
Ebenezer Oyetakin, said, “The fight against corruption must be total,
unambiguous, true in character and content, transparent in outlook and must not
be cloudy in presentation to the public.”
He said that the shielding of the identity of the looters in
itself was corruption and detrimental to the success of the fight against
graft.
Oyetakin stated, “The
fact that this is fuelling speculations that those involved are government
officials of the present regime is too bad for the image of the government that
is fighting corruption.
“This is why I must vehemently call on the EFCC to do the
needful by releasing the names of the looters. The more reason why the names
should be made known is to serve deterrence against such practices.
“However, I am more concerned that arresting and making this
type of discovery once in a month is not the only way to fight corruption or
regained the loots, otherwise fifty years will not be enough to regain looted
funds.”
He called for the re-denomination of the naira, adding that
owners of looted funds could come out and change their money.
A former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Adamu
Mu’azu was reported to have said that he knew nothing about funds recovered at
a property reported to be his in Ikoyi, Lagos.
An online newspaper,
The Cable, reported that Mu’azu, who was
the Governor of Bauchi State from 1999 to 2007, said he got a bank loan to
acquire the land where the house was built, adding that he sold the house to
pay back the loan.
Another online newspaper, Sahara Reporters, reported that
the Minister of Transportation, Amaechi,
said he had no connection whatsoever with the apartment or the money.
He was reported to have said that he did not own any
apartment or house in Lagos, stating that his only property in Nigeria was in
Abuja.
Punch Newspaper’s best Saturday: Wike, NIA fight over ownership of N13bn seized by EFCC
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