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.
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