The anti-corruption campaign of the President
Muhammadu Buhari-led administration appears to
have taken a bigger bite as the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission has secretly frozen
the bank accounts of former President Goodluck
Jonathan’s associates, SUNDAY PUNCH has
learnt.
One of our correspondents learnt that the move by
the anti-graft agency was aimed at scuttling the
tranfer of the alleged looted funds from the
accounts for other reasons.
A member of a key transition committee of the All
Progressives Congress, who spoke to one of our
correspondents on condition of anonymity, on
Friday, said the need had become necessary in
view of the magnitude of the alleged theft of public
resources by the affected persons.
The APC chieftain spoke on the heels of the
condemnation of President Buhari’s ongoing probe
of the last administration of the Peoples
Democratic Party and recovery of funds looted by
public officials.
The affected accounts, SUNDAY PUNCH learnt,
belonged to Keketobou Foundation, owned by
former Special Adviser to Jonathan on Niger Delta
and Coordinator of the Amnesty Programme, Mr.
Kingsley Kuku, and Mieka Divers Limited as well
as Global West Vessels Limited reportedly owned
by ex-Niger Delta warlord, Mr. Government
Ekpompolo, aka Tompolo.
Further investigations by our correspondents also
showed that one of Jonathan’s close allies, Mr.
Kime Engozi’s accounts had also been flagged.
Engozi is the contractor handling the N30bn
Maritime University contract at Okerenkoko in the
Gbaramatu area of Delta State.
Besides, funds already approved for the
commencement of the university are said to have
remained frozen in a Yenagoa branch of the United
Bank for Africa Plc.
The NIMASA Technical College at Okoloba, also in
Delta State, is also said to be facing an uncertain
future as there are fears that the institution might
be scrapped.
Accounts linked to the former Director General of
NIMASA, Dr. Patrick Akpobolokemi, are also said
to have been frozen by the EFCC.
The source, who is now in the Presidency, said
although he could not confirm if Jonathan’s recent
meeting with Buhari discussed the issue, the
action to ‘flag’ the said accounts might have been
for security reasons.
The source also said the opposition Peoples
Democratic Party was ignorant of the workings of
the Federal Government, especially on security.
The source added, “This is not a matter of lobby or
any politics that should be shoved aside; what is at
stake is the nation’s security and nothing more.
“When the PDP says the current anti-corruption
drive is selective, we continue to laugh at them
because they do not seem to know what is at stake
at all. If only they know, all the noise they have
been making won’t be made at all.
“How many of these PDP elements know that just
one individual benefitted from a single NIMASA
transaction to the tune of N13bn, not to talk of about
$57m he was said to have benefitted from
controversial contract deals?
“Are these the things they ask us to sweep under
the carpet? Certainly, we cannot because apart
from the angle of the impunity and financial
recklessness, does it make any sense if any
responsible government allows such individuals,
who had threatened war in the event that Jonathan
did not win to have such huge sums in bank
vaults? Such accounts must be flagged, of course.”
However, the PDP has asked President Buhari to
follow the rule of law in his government’s
determination to fight corruption.
The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr.
Olisa Metuh, in an interview with one of our
correspondents on Saturday night, asked the
President not to spare anyone, including his friends
and members of the ruling APC in the crusade.
Metuh said, “We are not against the war against
corruption, but what we are saying is that the
President must follow the rule of law.
“The law says every accused person is innocent
until proven otherwise. Then, the President must
also look at his party; he shouldn’t spare his
friends.
“If any of our members is found to be corrupt, let
them face the law of the land. But no one should be
tagged as being corrupt when the court has not
said so.”
He also asked the President to fund the anti-
corruption agencies adequately, while saying that
the agencies should also conduct what he
described as “water-tight investigations” before
rushing to the court.
Repeated calls to the mobile telephone set of the
National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, were neither picked nor returned.
Also he had yet to reply a text message sent to him
at 8.52pm, asking for his comments on charges
that the APC-led administration was hounding
members of the opposition PDP and associates of
Jonathan, as of the time of filing this report.
Tompolo is not under any investigations by the
EFCC, but Kuku has a date to keep with the anti-
graft agency in September, having gone for a knee
surgery in the United States of America in July,
while the former NIMASA boss has been under
investigation for over month.
However, Akpobolokemi’s interaction with the
EFCC has been linked to business deals by him
while he held sway at NIMASA and the ex-warlord.
SUNDAY PUNCH also learnt that EFCC’s seizure of
Akpobolokemi’s international passport and a N38m
worth bullet-proof Toyota Landcruiser was already
heightening speculations that he might be
prosecuted if findings by the investigators indict
him.
At least three close aides and confidants of the ex-
NIMASA boss, including the current Executive
Director in charge of Maritime Safety and Shipping
Development, Mr. Ezekiel Bala Agaba, has been guests of the EFCC for the last 10 days .
PUNCH
