N3bn accounts: EFCC arrests Patience Jonathan’s sister at airport
- EFCC has reportedly arrested Mrs Esther Oba, the younger sister to the Nigerian former First Lady, Patience Jonathan over alleged corruption
- The commission said it has been looking for Mrs Oba for over a year because her name featured as the sole signatory to the account of one AM-PM Global Network
- The anti-graft agency said Mrs Oba claimed that the firm originally belonged to her mother, Mama Charity Oba, who is now deceased
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has reportedly arrested the younger sister to the Nigerian former First Lady, Patience Jonathan, the wife of the immediate past President, Goodluck Jonathan, over suspicious payments of N3bn made into her many accounts
Punch reports that the suspect, Esther Oba, was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Monday, January 22, shortly after returning from Dubai with her husband and three children.
It was learnt that the accounts, with a combined balance of N3bn, are in Skye Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Diamond Bank and Ecobank.
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An impeccable source at the EFCC said: ''We had been looking for her for over a year because her name featured as the sole signatory to the account of one AM-PM Global Network, a firm under investigation for alleged fraud.
“When we could not get her, we alerted all security agencies and told them to put her on a watchlist and to inform us if she showed up at any port of entry.
''On Monday, we received word from the Nigeria Immigration Service that she came in with her husband and three children. We raced down to the airport and picked her up. She is still in our custody.''
In her statement of oath to the EFCC, however, Mrs Oba said the firm originally belonged to her mother, Mama Charity Oba, who is now deceased.
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The suspect added that only her brother, Mohammed Tamuno Tonye, knew the source of the funds and he is also dead.
A source at the anti-graft agency, however, said Mrs Oba’s claims were hard to believe.
He said: ''She said her mother, Mama Charity Oba, was the original owner of the firm. However, after her mother died a Bank Verification Number was needed, two directors of the firm, Gift and Mohammed Tamuno Tonye, wrote Stanbic IBTC saying Esther Oba should be the sole signatory.
''She took charge of the account on February 3, 2016 and between March and May of the same year, there was an inflow of N317m into the account. She said only her brother, Mohammed Tamuno Tonye, knew the source of the funds and he died a few months ago.”
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that EFCC approached the Federal High Court in Lagos for an application seeking the forfeiture of the funds in 15 bank accounts linked to Patience Jonathan.
The funds which the EFCC is seeking to seize, include a total of $8,435,788.84 and over N7.35bn.
The commission's application was, however, objected to by a team of senior lawyers led by Ifedayo Adedipe and Mike Ozekhome who challenged the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the application.
The EFCC stage a walk against corruption on Legit.ng TV:
Source: Legit.ng
