EFCC uncover fresh case of former minister lodging N2.5bn in her housemaid's account

ECONOMIC and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officials have uncovered a fresh case of fraud in which the housemaid of a former female minister had N2.5bn (£6.6m) in a bank account opened for her by boss.

 

Investigators from the anti-graft agency believe the account was opened by the former influential minister in the name of the housemaid as part of the effort to cover her tracks. However, preliminary investigations have shown that the former minister is the sole signatory to the account despite it not being in her name.

 

One EFCC source said: “Our findings indicated that the ex-female minister opened an account in the name of her housemaid and with her photograph but the signature in the account is that of the ex-minister. At the time we made the discovery, over N2.5bn was in the account but the volume of transactions in the account has been huge.

 

“We are suspecting that the ex-minister did not put the housemaid in the picture of what she wanted to do with her passport photograph. We have established that the ex-minister has been drawing funds from the said account and we have retrieved records of all transactions by the ex-minister."

 

Meanwhile, the EFCC has secured a court order to detain Abiodun Agbele, an associate of Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State. Mr Agbele was arrested during the week in respect of ongoing investigation into how about N4.75bn of the $2.1bn arms cash was diverted to a former minister of defence, Musiliu Obanikoro and Governor Fayose.