The EFCC has arrested a level six accounts officer at the
Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Christy Olabode, for an alleged
fraud of N100 million. According to a statement from Mr Wilson Uwujaren, the
commission`s Head of Media and Publicity, in Abuja on Friday, the arrest was
made on Aug. 2.
The statement said that also arrested were her younger
brother, Abdul-Shehu Obaze, of the commercial department of FAAN in Ilorin and
Dominic Ojo, an IT officer at the headquarters in Lagos. It said the arrest followed an anonymous petition, which
indicated that she allegedly diverted the said sum by inserting names of
non-FAAN staff into its payroll.
The statement said she allegedly conspired with Obaze, who
was found to have maintained not less than eight accounts in seven new
generation banks to perpetrate the fraud.
The statement added that the banks were used to receive the
funds for onward distribution to some high ranking officers in FAAN. “The funds were being paid into his various bank accounts
with the narrative, Furniture Allowance.
“However, while the allowance for FAAN’s furniture is
usually paid once in three years, Obaze received the allowance several times in
a year,’’ the statement said. It added that investigations by the EFCC revealed that the
fraud had gone on since 2013.
It further added that the investigations unearthed a payroll
with names of many dead, retired and disengaged staff of FAAN listed against
Obaze’s different bank accounts. “Upon interrogation, Obaze, a level nine officer, confessed
that other FAAN officials were involved in the fraud, including Olabode’s
husband, who works in the human resources department of FAAN.
“Olabode and Ojo currently enjoy administrative bail while
Obaze remains in EFCC custody,’’ the statement further said. It added that they would be charged to court as soon as
investigations were concluded. (NAN)
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