The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested the younger sister to Mrs. Patience Jonathan , the wife of the immediate past President , Goodluck Jonathan , over suspicious payments of N3 bn made into her many accounts
The accounts , with a combined balance of N3 bn , are in Skye Bank, Stanbic IBTC , Diamond Bank and Ecobank .
It was learnt that the suspect , Esther Oba , was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Monday shortly after returning from Dubai with her husband and three children .
Mrs. Oba first came under the EFCC radar in 2016 when the commission was investigating Mrs. Jonathan .
The commission had discovered that an account with Oba ’ s Bank Verification Number bearing Mrs . Jonathan signature had a balance of $ 429 , 381. 87 and subsequently froze it .
Subsequent investigations by the anti - graft agency showed that Mrs. Oba was the sole signatory to an account known as the AM -PM Global Network at Stanbic IBTC 0016971559 at Walter Carrington branch , Victoria Island , Lagos which received the sum of N317 m from its Diamond Bank account 0026718889 , being proceeds of unlawful enrichment derived by Patience who was then appointed a permanent secretary by the Bayelsa State Government.
The account was subsequently frozen by the EFCC .
However , Mrs. Oba continued to evade the authorities until Monday night when she was arrested at the airport.
An impeccable source at the EFCC said , “We had been looking for her for over a year because her name featured as the sole signatory to the account of one AM - PM Global Network , a firm under investigation for alleged fraud .
“ When we could not get her , we alerted all security agencies and told them to put her on a watchlist and to inform us if she showed up at any port of entry . On Monday , we received word from the Nigeria Immigration Service that she came in with her husband and three children .
“We raced down to the airport and picked her up . She is still in our custody. ”
In her statement of oath to the EFCC , however , Mrs. Oba said the firm originally belonged to her mother, Mama Charity Oba , who is now deceased .
The suspect added that only her brother , Mohammed Tamuno Tonye , knew the source of the funds and he is also dead .
A source at the anti - graft agency , however , said Mrs . Oba ’ s claims were hard to believe .
He said , “ She said her mother, Mama Charity Oba , was the original owner of the firm. However , after her mother died a Bank Verification Number was needed , two directors of the firm, Gift and Mohammed Tamuno Tonye , wrote Stanbic IBTC saying Esther Oba should be the sole signatory .
“ She took charge of the account on February 3 , 2016 and between March and May of the same year , there was an inflow of N 317m into the account . She said only her brother , Mohammed Tamuno Tonye , knew the source of the funds and he died a few months ago. ”
It was learnt that another firm, Finchley Top Homes Limited , was also traced to Mrs . Jonathan ’ s sister .
Based on a board resolution entered into by one Ama Ada and Ama Emelia , Mrs. Oba was also made the sole signatory to the bank accounts of the firm.
Finchley Top Homes Limited ’ s account numbered 1102001996 in Ecobank , with a balance of N226 , 376 , 700. 23 and a fixed deposit of N1 , 099, 511 , 484. 88 .
Similarly affected were the company ’ s Skye Bank account numbered 1771731336 , with a balance of N14 , 173 , 848. 85 ; Fidelity Bank account numbered 4011019539 with a balance of N1 , 800, 494, 000; Stanbic Bank account numbered 0016901361 , with a balance of N40 , 594 , 12 . 88 ; and Diamond Bank account 0019213687 with a balance of N39 , 418, 712 . 12 .
The accounts , with a combined balance of N3 bn , are in Skye Bank, Stanbic IBTC , Diamond Bank and Ecobank .
It was learnt that the suspect , Esther Oba , was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Monday shortly after returning from Dubai with her husband and three children .
Mrs. Oba first came under the EFCC radar in 2016 when the commission was investigating Mrs. Jonathan .
The commission had discovered that an account with Oba ’ s Bank Verification Number bearing Mrs . Jonathan signature had a balance of $ 429 , 381. 87 and subsequently froze it .
Subsequent investigations by the anti - graft agency showed that Mrs. Oba was the sole signatory to an account known as the AM -PM Global Network at Stanbic IBTC 0016971559 at Walter Carrington branch , Victoria Island , Lagos which received the sum of N317 m from its Diamond Bank account 0026718889 , being proceeds of unlawful enrichment derived by Patience who was then appointed a permanent secretary by the Bayelsa State Government.
The account was subsequently frozen by the EFCC .
However , Mrs. Oba continued to evade the authorities until Monday night when she was arrested at the airport.
An impeccable source at the EFCC said , “We had been looking for her for over a year because her name featured as the sole signatory to the account of one AM - PM Global Network , a firm under investigation for alleged fraud .
“ When we could not get her , we alerted all security agencies and told them to put her on a watchlist and to inform us if she showed up at any port of entry . On Monday , we received word from the Nigeria Immigration Service that she came in with her husband and three children .
“We raced down to the airport and picked her up . She is still in our custody. ”
In her statement of oath to the EFCC , however , Mrs. Oba said the firm originally belonged to her mother, Mama Charity Oba , who is now deceased .
The suspect added that only her brother , Mohammed Tamuno Tonye , knew the source of the funds and he is also dead .
A source at the anti - graft agency , however , said Mrs . Oba ’ s claims were hard to believe .
He said , “ She said her mother, Mama Charity Oba , was the original owner of the firm. However , after her mother died a Bank Verification Number was needed , two directors of the firm, Gift and Mohammed Tamuno Tonye , wrote Stanbic IBTC saying Esther Oba should be the sole signatory .
“ She took charge of the account on February 3 , 2016 and between March and May of the same year , there was an inflow of N 317m into the account . She said only her brother , Mohammed Tamuno Tonye , knew the source of the funds and he died a few months ago. ”
It was learnt that another firm, Finchley Top Homes Limited , was also traced to Mrs . Jonathan ’ s sister .
Based on a board resolution entered into by one Ama Ada and Ama Emelia , Mrs. Oba was also made the sole signatory to the bank accounts of the firm.
Finchley Top Homes Limited ’ s account numbered 1102001996 in Ecobank , with a balance of N226 , 376 , 700. 23 and a fixed deposit of N1 , 099, 511 , 484. 88 .
Similarly affected were the company ’ s Skye Bank account numbered 1771731336 , with a balance of N14 , 173 , 848. 85 ; Fidelity Bank account numbered 4011019539 with a balance of N1 , 800, 494, 000; Stanbic Bank account numbered 0016901361 , with a balance of N40 , 594 , 12 . 88 ; and Diamond Bank account 0019213687 with a balance of N39 , 418, 712 . 12 .
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