The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was on
the trail of some high-profile tenants when it found the $43.4 million, £27,000
and N23 million at House 6, Apartment 7B, it was learnt.
Four of the tenants have been quizzed; a petition is pending
against the fifth.
The building, it was learnt, had been under surveillance
because of the tenants.
Sources said a whistle-blower alerted the EFCC about the
apartment in which the huge cash was recovered.
When the EFCC moved in, a source said, it was unaware that
the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) had a Safe Apartment there.
The high-profile tenants live in the building.
The anti-graft agency, according to the sources, had been
trying to identify the tenants’ assets, including choice apartments in the
towers.
The whistle-blower, it was learnt, might have had knowledge
of the EFCC’s discreet investigation and decided to help.
But, as it turned out, the apartment does not belong to any
of the tenants.
One of them was said to have sold his stake in the towers.
A source said: “As at the time of the EFCC’s
operation on Wednesday, about five high-profile tenants, who
are either being investigated or on the radar of the commission, were
suspected to be living or having apartments there.
“Some of the tenants have been quizzed and others are
undergoing investigation. Only one of them has an outstanding petition still
being probed by EFCC detectives.”
“Among them are two former governors, a director of the
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and two prominent lawyers.
“So, when the whistle-blower raised the red flag, the EFCC
was quick to move in without knowing that the 7B apartment is a safe house of
the NIA.
“There was excitement in the Lagos Zonal office of the EFCC
about a breakthrough. This was why the operation started between 10am and
11am,” the source said.
He said EFCC was hesitant to cooperate with the NIA.
A government official, who pleaded not to be named because
of “the sensitivity” of the matter, spoke last night in what transpired between
EFCC and NIA.
He said the EFCC did not set out to ridicule or embarrass
the NIA. “It is unfortunate that this is the second time this type of incident
is happening between the two agencies,” he said, adding:
“There was a case of some cash released for contingency
assignment by presidential fiat through the NIA account. The release was based
on the directive of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.
“When the EFCC began the investigation of some Politically
Exposed Persons (PEPs), it traced the movement of the cash to NIA account.
Instead of seeking explanation from the Director-General of NIA, Ambassador Ayo
Oke, the EFCC wrote directly to the Central Bank of Nigeria( CBN) to demand the
details of the transactions on the said account.
“In fact, the documents obtained from CBN included other
sensitive operations and overhead. The NIA took exception to it. When President
Muhammadu Buhari intervened, he saw all the records that neither NIA DG nor any
staff benefited from the said funds.
“NIA actually transferred the whole money as directed by the
ex-President to another dedicated account. Subsequent EFCC investigation did
not indict NIA. As for Wednesday’s operation, it was true that DG of
NIA rushed to the Acting chairman of EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, who promised to
intervene.
The NIA boss only asked EFCC to retrieve the cash without making a
public show of it in the media.
“At the time the NIA got in touch with EFCC, the operation
was already midway and strategy wise, the EFCC chairman felt it would convey a
different impression because a crowd had already gathered in and around the
towers.”
Responding to a question, the source added: “The operation
was based on the clues from the whistle-blower. The commission acted on intelligence.
No one gave EFCC a list of safe houses of NIA. And the cash was also considered
huge for NIA’s covert operations.”
According to the source, the EFCC secured clearance from a
senior intelligence officer before continuing its operation after entreaties
from the NIA.
”I think there was communication gap somewhere and lack of
synergy between the security and intelligence agencies,” he said, adding:
“This incident will serve as a lesson for all the agencies
to cooperate and share intelligence.”
Nigerians have continued to raise questions about the
ownership of the mystery cash, which the NIA has claimed.
Among the questions is that if the money was meant for
operations, why has it not been spent in two years? Was there any need for it,
considering how long it has stayed unspent?
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has said the money belongs
to the state. If it is not returned in seven days, said the governor, the state
will launch a legal battle to recover it.
He said it was the proceed of the state’s gas turbine sold
by the Rotimi Amaechi administration.
Amaechi denied the claim, saying he had nothing to do with
the money. He challenged Wike to prove the allegation.
About N16billion has been recovered by the EFCC in the last
few days in Lagos.
About N12,360,814,000 and N4billion were traced to
private accounts.
On December 22, last year, the Federal Government launched
the whistle blowing policy to expose fraud and other related crimes in public
and private sectors.
The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, said: “If there
is a voluntary return of stolen or concealed public funds or assets on the
account of the information provided, the whistle blower may be entitled to
anywhere between 2.5 per cent (minimum) and 5.0 per cent (maximum) of the total
amount recovered.”
By: Yusuf Alli
