The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday invited the immediate past Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Amb. Ayodele Oke, his wife, Mrs. Folashade Oke and others implicated in the $43.45million recovered at Osborne Towers in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The others were unnamed.
But sources close to Oke said last night that the ex-NIA DG was yet to receive any letter from the EFCC.
A statement by the EFCC, however, said the invitation of the former NIA DG and others was part of the resumption of the investigation of the cash haul.
The statement said: “In furtherance of its investigative activities to unravel the circumstances surrounding the $43.45 million cash recovered by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Lagos sometime in April 2017, the Commission has invited former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Ayodele Oke and his wife, Folashade Oke.
”Mrs. Oke had refused to honour previous invitations by the commission which resumed its investigation into the matter, following the Federal Government’s decision to relieve Mr. Oke of his position as DG.
”Besides the couple, other suspects are equally being invited to determine their culpability or otherwise in the humongous cash, in foreign currencies and naira notes, stashed in a residential building at Osborne Road Ikoyi, Lagos.”
A judge of the Federal High Court in Lagos, Justice Muslim Hassan, had on June 6, 2017 granted a final forfeiture order of the funds since no one appeared before the court to claim them.
He said: “I am in complete agreement with the submission of the learned counsel for the applicant (EFCC) that the property sought to be attached are reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities and that by every standard this huge sum of money is not expected to be kept without going through a designated financial institution; more so, nobody has shown cause why the said sum should not be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria. Having regard to the foregoing, I have no other option but to grant this application as prayed.
“For the avoidance of any doubt, I hereby make the following orders: 1. A final order is made forfeiting the sums of $43,449,947 found by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission at Flat 7B of No. 16 Osborne Road, Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, which sum is reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
__________
Follow us on Twitter at @thesignalng
Copyright 2017 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant sources.
