The
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has frozen Patience Jonathan’s
personal account, titled ‘Patience Ibifaka Jonathan’, which is domiciled in
Skye Bank Plc.
Impeccable
sources within the agency said on Wednesday that the move had become necessary
due to the prima facie case established against the former President Goodluck
Jonathan’s wife.
As
part of investigations into alleged diversion against a former Special Adviser
to ex-President Jonathan on Domestic Affairs, Waripamowei Dudafa, the
anti-graft agency had frozen four companies’ accounts in Skye Bank with a
balance of $15,591,700.
However,
before the EFCC could arraign the four companies in court, Jonathan’s wife
deposed to an affidavit, claiming that the money belonged to her.
Despite
Patience’s claims, however, the EFCC arraigned the four companies –Pluto
Property and Investment Company Limited; Seagate Property Development and
Investment Company Limited; Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company
Limited; and Globus Integrated Service Limited.
The
companies pleaded guilty and the EFCC had already begun moves to ensure that
the money is forfeited permanently to the Federal Government.
A
detective at the EFCC said ,
“Recall that we had frozen the four companies’ accounts, which Patience
Jonathan later laid claim to. We have been able to establish that the money was
part of proceeds of crime.
“She
had no evidence that the money in the four accounts belonged to her. All she
had were platinum debit cards, which she was using to withdraw money and the
cards are not evidence of ownership.
“Initially,
we had traced $5m to her personal account, which we did not touch but I can
confirm to you now that the $5m account, bearing Patience Jonathan’s name, has
also been seized since she claimed that the monies in the company accounts and
the one in her personal name all emanated from the same source.
“We
are tracing other accounts belonging to Patience. It will interest you to know
that despite all the letters she has written, she has never stated where she
got the money from. She claimed to be a housewife and yet she has $20m.”
Patience
had recently written a letter to the acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim
Magu, where she claimed that she needed the money for her medical treatment
abroad.
She
had also sued Skye Bank for N200m, accusing the bank of freezing her accounts
unjustly.
In
a letter written by her lawyers, Granville Abibo (SAN) and Co, Patience said,
“It is noteworthy to emphasise that the said accounts, which were in US dollar
denomination, were card-based accounts and our client is the sole signatory of
these accounts.
“The
said bank officials also assured our client that they will change the account
names accordingly and issue to our client new credit cards for the said
accounts which was not done despite repeated demands.
“However,
our client has been operating the said accounts using the cards for her medical
bill payments and purchases for her private purposes without any let or
hindrance.
“Our
client was therefore surprised when the said cards stopped functioning on July 7,
2016 or thereabout. Our client immediately thereupon contacted Skye Bank Plc
through our solicitors. It was only then that the bank officials informed our
client that the said accounts were placed on a ‘No Debit Order’ following
investigations and instructions from your commission and this is without notice
to our client by either the bank or the commission.
“It
is in the light of the foregoing that we urge you to use your good offices to
vacate the ‘No Debit/Freezing Order’ placed on the said accounts.”
Source:The
Punch
Tags
Politics