EFCC uncovers $200million ‘stolen’ property in President Buhari’s office
The EFCC, while probing the whereabouts of the $200 million fines, paid by five companies involved in the $180 million Halliburton bribery scam, have made a major discovery in the office of the President, Muhammadu Buhari.
According to sources, the EFCC, strived for several months before they were finally able to trace the $200 million, which was allegedly dispatched into a CBN account, before the property was acquired.
Also according to sources, the money was supposedly dispatched into the account by the five companies as follows: Julius Berger ($35m); Siemens (€30m); Snamprogetti ($30m); Halliburton Energy Services ($32,500,000); and Japan Gasoline Corporation ($26, 500,000).
As reported by The Nation newspaper, an EFCC source said: ‘One of the five suspects interrogated by our team, indicated that the money was used to buy a customized security helicopter for ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.’
The helicopter, according to the source is still in Buhari’s presidential fleet.
A former Minister of Finance, is currently under investigation for releasing the money to the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, which was then headed by the late General Owoye Azazi.
The source further added: ‘We have made substantial progress in locating the remittance of the fines into an account in the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, but the cash was withdrawn under the guise of security funding.
‘But it was not clear if the N81.4billion was spent on the helicopter, or part of it. We are trying to find out the cost of the helicopter from the manufacturer. Preliminary findings confirmed that the helicopter could not have cost up to N1 billion to N2 billion.’
In an effort to find out more and confirm the story, all attempts to contact the EFCC were however futile.
