Embattled
former First Lady of Nigeria, Patience Jonathan may be in for more
trouble with the EFCC as the commission freezes her personal account.
Dame Patience Jonathan
Patience Jonathan’s personal account, titled ‘Patience Ibifaka
Jonathan’, which is domiciled in Skye Bank Plc, has been frozen by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
According to The Punch, impeccable sources within the agency
revealed 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 told The Punch, “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.”
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