The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) has thrown its weight behind the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for ‘freezing’ a Unity Bank account allegedly containing N1.9 billion belonging to Hajiya Bola Shagaya, a society lady and businesswoman.
The EFCC said the amount was believed to be proceeds of illicit financial dealings between her and the former First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan.
Mr. Debo Adeniran, CACOL Executive Chairman, in a statement issued on Thursday by Adegboyega Otunuga, the group’s Coordinator, Media and Publications, maintained that if the allegation was true, this could be one of many high-profile cases of numerous and mind-boggling looting of Nigerians’ commonwealth that were reportedly perpetrated under the last regime.
Adeniran stressed, “It is a known fact that for the anti-corruption drive of this administration to yield any tangible result, the various agencies responsible for routing out this scourge from our society need to devise various legitimate means as perpetrators of official heist get more daring in their acts.
Adeniran lamented that despite all efforts by the EFCC to question Hajiya Shagaya, who was allegedly fronting for and using her social influence to launder illicit funds for the former First Lady, to clarify the humongous funds in her accounts, she had remained elusive and uncooperative.
He said, “Consequently, the EFCC was left with no other option than to approach an appropriate court for an order to temporarily set aside this same account, thus preventing her from making withdrawals or any other transactions on same until investigations are fully concluded, an action that is fully in line with the anti-corruption agency’s powers.
“It was not just that this order was lawfully obtained by the EFCC before they took this necessary step of getting the account frozen, the EFCC further explained that about N2 billion that was eventually frozen, was just part of over N3 billion Mrs. Shagaya received as ‘founder fees’ from ‘Women for Change’, an organisation that was being spearheaded by Mrs. Patience Jonathan.
“They (EFCC) went further to explain how the over N3 billion was realised through Shagaya’s ‘fraudulent activities in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), where she allegedly ‘fraudulently influenced the allocation of dual purpose kerosene to Index Petrolube Africa Limited, with the aid of Mrs. Patience Jonathan.”
“Also, the EFCC claimed to the court that out of the N3.3 billion Shagaya had paid N1,2 billion to Patience Jonathan through her, ‘Women for Change Initiative’ account, domiciled in Diamond Bank account, while she kept the balance of nearly N2 billion to herself, ‘warehousing’ same in her personal account with Unity Bank, and doing everything possible to frustrate investigations and explanations on how she came about the illicit funds, legitimately.”
The CACOL boss added, “While we agree that corruption may not have been fully extirpated within our body polity, the facts remain that this government under Muhammadu Buhari’s presidency, has done many things humanly possible, to discourage impunity and open looting of the treasury.
“It is in this light that CACOL, as an anti-corruption coalition, has thrown its full weight behind the administration’s quest and resolve to minimise, even if it cannot exterminate the bogey of corruption, which we all perceive to be the country’s singular albatross to realising its full potentials.”
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