The Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, has said that it freezes the accounts of a business woman, Mrs. Bola Shagaya due to intelligence report that she was using them to launder billions of Naira for former first Lady, Mrs Dame Patience Jonathan.
The anti-graft agency stated this in its counter affidavit to a motion filed by Hajiya Bola Shagaya before the Federal High Court, Lagos challenging the freezing of her account by the commission.
It would be recalled that Bola Shagaya, in a suit filed before the court is urging the court to set aside the order of the court freezing her bank accounts in Unity Bank Plc.
However, in a counter affidavit sworn to by an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, Mr. Musbahu Yahaya Abubakar, and filed before the court by EFCC legal officer Barrister Idris Abdullahi Mohammed, the deponent averred that EFCC received a cogent, direct and positive intelligence of a case of conspiracy, unlawful enrichment and money laundering against the applicant, that she was making suspicious deposits into the accounts subject matter of investigation.
“The fund of the unlawful activities were paid into a front organisation account called “WOMEN FOR CHANGE INITIATIVE “for the benefit of the former first lady Mrs. Dame Patience Jonathan.”
It was also stated that the applicant through her alleged fraudulent activities in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, influenced the fraudulent allocation of Dual Purpose Kerosene DPK to Index Petrolube Africa Limited with the aid of the former first lady.
As a result of these fraudulent activities, the applicant was paid “FOUNDER FEES” In the total sum of N3,305,150,000 by Indexo Petrolube Africa Limited and its sister company,
Autodex Nigeria Limited both owned by Hon.Ezeani ThankGod for the fraudulent facilitation of Dual Purpose Kerosene DPK to his company, Index Petrolube Africa Limited.
EFCC said that in the cause of its Investigation, it invited Billy Okoye, the Executive Director Commercial of the Nigerian Petroleum Marketing Company NPMC, a subsidiary of NNPC who stated that he do not know anything about the ‘Founder ‘s Fee’ and that he never heard of it until confronted by the EFCC.
It was further averred that whenever Honourable Ezeani ThankGod makes fraudulent deposits into the account of Hajiya Bola Shagaya through his companies, Index Petrolube Africa Limited and Autodex Nigeria Limited, Hajiya Shagaya will thereafter transfer particular sum to the account of the former first lady using the account of women for change initiatives in Diamond bank, First Bank and Ecobank Limited.
The anti-graft agency said In view of the above, it applied to the court for ex -parte order of interim attachment before a Federal High Court, Lagos, and the presiding Judge in his wisdom after hearing the respondent application and reading the originating summons granted an interim order on the 29th of December, 2016 against the applicant accounts domiciled with Unity Bank plc pending the conclusion of the investigation and possible prosecution.
Consequently, EFCC urged the court to refuse Shagaya’s application and dismiss same as the application is not only frivolous, but an abuse of court process, and time wasting.
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