The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has seized some
properties said to belong to Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State. It was learnt that the properties located in the highbrow
areas of Lagos and Abuja were seized as part of investigations into the
N1.219bn the governor allegedly received from the Office of the National
Security Adviser when Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd) held sway, through a former
Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, as well as some kickbacks he
(Fayose) allegedly received from the Ekiti State Government contractors.
The anti-graft agency has also quizzed a former Secretary to
the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, on his alleged role in the
$15bn arms scam. Falae was grilled by investigators at the commission’s
office on Thursday.
Investigators told one of our correspondents that the seized
houses belonging to Fayose were allegedly purchased with stolen funds and the
EFCC invoked the Assets Forfeiture clause to seize the properties in line with
Sections 28 and 34 of the EFCC (Establishment Act) 2004 and Section 13(1) of
the Federal High Court Act, 2004.
The seizure came less than a month after the governor’s
three Zenith Bank accounts were frozen by the anti-graft agency. One of our correspondents, who visited two of the properties
on 32 Yedseram Street and 44 Osun River Crescent, Maitama, Abuja, observed the
inscriptions ‘EFCC, Keep Off’ on the fences.
According to court documents filed by the EFCC, the property
on Osun River Crescent was bought by Fayose in the name of his London-based
sister, Mrs. Moji Ladeji. The governor reportedly pulled down the structure of one of
the Abuja properties and started building a new one. The two properties, which are uncompleted buildings, were
said to be worth over N470m.
Sunday PUNCH learnt that the properties in Lagos were four
duplexes located at Plot 100 Tiamiyu Savage Street, Victoria Island. The four
duplexes cost $1.3m (N364m) each. They were allegedly bought through a company, JJ Technical.
The EFCC had in a 10-paragraph counter-affidavit deposed to
by Tosin Owobo accused Fayose of using the proceeds of crime to purchase
properties. The affidavit read in part, “Apart from fraudulently
retaining the sum of N1, 219,490,000 being part of the N4, 745,000,000 stolen
from the treasury of the Federal Government through the Office of the National
Security Adviser, the applicant (Fayose) has also received gratification in
form of kickbacks from various contractors with the Ekiti State Government such
as Samchese Nigeria Ltd, Tender Branch Concept Nig. Ltd, Hoff Concept Ltd and
Calibre Consulting Ltd.
“The applicant (Fayose) received these kickbacks and
gratification through Still Earth Ltd and Signachorr Nigeria Limited. In turn,
the applicant (Fayose) instructed the Still Earth Ltd and Signachoor Nigeria
Limited to use the funds to acquire properties for him.
“In complying with the applicant’s instruction, Still Earth
Limited and Signachoor Nigeria Limited acquired properties on behalf of the
applicant (Fayose) in the name of a company known as J.J Technical Services
Limited belonging to the applicant (Fayose) and his wife (Feyisetan).
“That the applicant (Fayose) also used the name of one Mrs.
Moji Ladeji (the applicant’s sister) to acquire a property situated at 44, Osun
Crescent, Maitama Abuja, from the proceeds of the alleged offences of receiving
gratification and kickbacks.” In his reaction, however, Fayose said all properties linked
to him were not bought with stolen funds.
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Public
Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the governor said any property
that might be linked to him or his company was “bought legitimately and his
properties were duly declared in his assets declaration form and sources of
such funds were not illicit.” He said since the money he got for his election was from
legitimate sources and not from the ONSA, “how the money was spent remained his
own business and not that of anyone.”
Mrs. Oyin Daramola, an estate agent and owner of Still Earth
Ltd, was quoted as telling investigators that she indeed sold the Victoria
Island properties to Fayose. She said she rejected the idea of receiving
payment through contracts.
Meanwhile, Falae, who was quizzed on Thursday by the
anti-graft agency, had in February admitted to collecting N100m from a former
Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party’s Board of Trustees, Chief Tony
Anenih, during the build-up to the 2015 presidential election.
The money was reportedly given to Falae to get his party,
the SDP, to endorse the then President, Goodluck Jonathan, and campaign for
him.
However, the N100m was said to have emanated from the
imprest account of the ONSA domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria.The money, which Falae got was said to be part of the
N3.145bn transferred from the account of the ONSA to the bank account of Joint
Trust Dimensions Limited, a company allegedly owned by the Director of Finance
of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Senator Nenadi Usman.
On Anenih’s instruction, Usman was said to have transferred
N100m into a UBA account titled Marecco Nigeria Limited with number 1000627022,
which allegedly belongs to Falae.
Others who allegedly received part of the fund were a former
Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode (N840m) and two former ministers, Achike
Udenwa and Viola Onwuliri, who jointly received N350m in two tranches. An investigator at the anti-graft agency told our
correspondent that Falae was grilled for several hours and then allowed to go
home on the condition that he would return in the next two weeks.
The source said Falae admitted to receiving the fund but
maintained that he did not know that the money emanated from the ONSA. However, investigators were said to have rattled the
78-year-old elder statesman with fresh facts.
A detective said, “Chief Falae came to our office based on
an invitation. He told us the story of how he received N100m based on the
instruction of Anenih. However, our investigations revealed that Falae only
transferred N60m to his party, SDP.
“The remaining N40m was personally withdrawn by him, which
means it was not used for campaign. When he was confronted, he started
appealing to us that he did not want to be detained or taken to court, so we
told him to go and bring the N40m first.
“He said we should give him some time, so we have given him
two weeks to go and bring the money and then report back to us.”
Asked if the EFCC was willing to charge Falae having frozen
his account, the detective said, “Chief Falae, is a former Permanent Secretary
and Minister of Finance. There is no way he would not have known that the deal
was shady.
“If he really wanted to use the money for campaign, why
didn’t he ask that the N100m be paid into the account of the SDP? Also, why
didn’t he question the source of the fund when it did not emanate from the
account of the PDP? Why did he keep N40m to himself?
“We are not victimising any political party or investigating
the source of campaign funds. All we are doing is tracing the billions of
dollars stolen from the ONSA account. Once you return the money, you will have
no problem.”
Falae, while admitting in February that he collected N100m,
had said, “It is true that N100m was given to my party to endorse and work for
(former President Goodluck Jonathan’s candidature in the 2015 election. We used
the money for that purpose and we effectively campaigned for the PDP since we
did not have presidential candidate in the election. The money was not for me.
“With all the money PDP has and having spent 16 years in
power, how would I have known that the money was from the arms deal? No
reference was made to the arms deal. So, they should not bring me into the arms
issue.”
Falae, while speaking to one of our correspondents on
Saturday confirmed that he was invited by the EFCC. The elder statesman said he
told the anti-graft agency that he didn’t collect any money from Dasuki.
He said, “It is true that I was invited by the EFCC and
during the interrogation I told them that I didn’t collect money from Dasuki;
that the money given to my party through Chief Tony Anenih was not given to me
personally but to my party, the SDP.
“I also told them that the money was mainly used for the
election. I told them it was an inter-party arrangement between our party and
the PDP and the money was spent on the election. I didn’t know where the PDP
got their money from, it was not my business but the money given to us had been
spent on the election. “I explained to them exactly what I said in my interview in
the newspapers.”
He, however, declined comment on whether or not he was asked
to come back to the EFCC for further interrogation.
