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Sunday 7 August 2016

EFCC to Sieze Akpabio’s Properties over N108bn Fraud


The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has stepped up its investigation of ex-Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, over allegations he embezzled the sum of N108bn during his tenure between 2007 and 2015.

Pursuant to that, the anti-graft agency has written to five banks demanding information on Akwa Ibom State finances under Akpabio’s administration, and is poised to invite prominent members of the state House of Assembly and serving commissioners for questioning.


“We have written to Zenith Bank, Keystone Bank, FCMB, Skye Bank, and UBA demanding information on the state’s accounts. We are also inviting the accountant-general, the auditor-general, the Speaker and the clerk of the House of Assembly. We have traced some houses to the former governor in Lagos and Abuja and it is just a matter of time before we seize them,” a source at EFCC told Sunday Punch.

Akpabio, now the Senate Minority Leader, was first interrogated by EFCC last year after a petition was filed against him, although the state government, through its Attorney-General, Uwemedimo Nwoko, obtained an interim order from Justice Ntong Ntong barring his investigation.

However, following a motion on notice filed by the EFCC, the court on Friday, vacated the restraining order on EFCC, before adjourning the matter till October 19 for hearing of the preliminary objection and other applications.

In a June 22, 2015 petition to EFCC, an Abuja-based lawyer and activist, Leo Ekpenyong had accused Akpabio of sheer waste in office.

Among several other allegations, the petitioner alleged that between January and December 2014, the trio of Godswill Akpabio, a former aide to the governor and another associate made illegal but substantial withdrawals of cash from a designated state government-owned account with Zenith Bank with account number 101037588, amounting to N22.1bn.

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