The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has frozen Patience Jonathan’s personal account, titled ‘Patience Ibifaka Jonathan’, which is domiciled in Skye Bank Plc.
Impeccable sources within the agency told our correspondent on Wednesday that the move had become necessary due to the prima facie case established against the former President Goodluck Jonathan’s wife.
As part of investigations into alleged diversion against a former Special Adviser to ex-President Jonathan on Domestic Affairs, Waripamowei Dudafa, the anti-graft agency had frozen four companies’ accounts in Skye Bank with a balance of $15,591,700.
However, before the EFCC could arraign the four companies in court, Jonathan’s wife deposed to an affidavit, claiming that the money belonged to her.
Despite Patience’s claims, however, the EFCC arraigned the four companies –Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited; Seagate Property Development and Investment Company Limited; Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited; and Globus Integrated Service Limited.
The companies pleaded guilty and the EFCC had already begun moves to ensure that the money is forfeited permanently to the Federal Government.
A detective at the EFCC told newsmen, “Recall that we had frozen the four companies’ accounts, which Patience Jonathan later laid claim to. We have been able to establish that the money was part of proceeds of crime.
“She had no evidence that the money in the four accounts belonged to her. All she had were platinum debit cards, which she was using to withdraw money and the cards are not evidence of ownership.
“Initially, we had traced $5m to her personal account, which we did not touch but I can confirm to you now that the $5m account, bearing Patience Jonathan’s name, has also been seized since she claimed that the monies in the company accounts and the one in her personal name all emanated from the same source.
“We are tracing other accounts belonging to Patience. It will interest you to know that despite all the letters she has written, she has never stated where she got the money from. She claimed to be a housewife and yet she has $20m.”
Patience had recently written a letter to the acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, where she claimed that she needed the money for her medical treatment abroad.
She had also sued Skye Bank for N200m, accusing the bank of freezing her accounts unjustly.
In a letter written by her lawyers, Granville Abibo (SAN) and Co, Patience said, “It is noteworthy to emphasise that the said accounts, which were in US dollar denomination, were card-based accounts and our client is the sole signatory of these accounts.
“The said bank officials also assured our client that they will change the account names accordingly and issue to our client new credit cards for the said accounts which was not done despite repeated demands.
“However, our client has been operating the said accounts using the cards for her medical bill payments and purchases for her private purposes without any let or hindrance.
“Our client was therefore surprised when the said cards stopped functioning on July 7, 2016 or thereabout. Our client immediately thereupon contacted Skye Bank Plc through our solicitors. It was only then that the bank officials informed our client that the said accounts were placed on a ‘No Debit Order’ following investigations and instructions from your commission and this is without notice to our client by either the bank or the commission.
“It is in the light of the foregoing that we urge you to use your good offices to vacate the ‘No Debit/Freezing Order’ placed on the said accounts.”
Group of treasury looters and inadvertently caused the economic hardship we are all dinning with now. God, in His might, will reward all of you appropriately.
ReplyDeletelet the EFCC also trace OBJ wife account too before i can say u are doing a grate job.
ReplyDeleteWhich Obj's wife? The late Stella? It's simply shows how myopic you are in your thinking.
DeleteWhy stop at Obj's wife ? They should go after tafa balewa's wife as well.Bloody blind idiot,u fail to see that the common man benefit when corrupt rich people goes after each others;we finally have accountability and I don't care if they started with Jonathan's regime,d point of d matter is that they have started,and I hope d next administration returns d favor to buhari.No more impunity for this leeches
DeleteAgain, no sympathies for any of these Treasury looters. They can make this as retroactive as far as there are evidence (or lack of it from the perspective of the looters as to the source of their wealth). Even within the current admin, the rules are not being applied fairly. And btw, the fact that you are quick to call people names, and are incapable of engaging in civil discuss without name-calling, show your level of ignobility.
DeleteNo sympathy for her, but what about Babangida's wives, obj's wives, yaradua's wife?
ReplyDeleteI wonder why and how pple will just decide to show their ignorance I public domain like dis. Efcc did not hav issue with mama p in d first instance,she call etc herself by laying claim to dos four companies money. My question is dis, has late Stella obj laid such claim before? Most commentators here think tru dere anus
ReplyDeleteThank u very much @ prince.I don't give a damn about all of them.I care less if they round all of them up and lock them inside jail n throw away d key.I just dislike alot of "dumb-goyaros"trying to make up one excuse after the other.They come up with witch hunt,ethnic bias,religious bias and all other bs.I refuse to join issues with idiots who r still stucked in d archaic era.The south south is a dumb,and any body who isn't upset about d state of that region has no heart.I however refuse to blame only d government,ppl like Jonathan,patience and a host of others are just as responsible.If the military like,they can round them all up from d onset of independence till now,I don't care,just don't come here to justify one wrong with another wrong.
ReplyDelete