Akinjide returned N640m in separate case – EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said on Wednesday the N640million returned by a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Jumoke Akinjide, was for another fraud case.

Akinjide was arraigned for alleged money laundering alongside a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader in Oyo State, Chief Olarenwaju Otiti, a former Senator representing Oyo Central Senatorial District, Ayo Adeseun and a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, who is said to be at large.

The EFCC accused them of conspiring to directly take possession of N650 million without going through a financial institution.EFCC said the N640 million Akinjide returned was not part of the N650 million she allegedly received from Mrs. Alison-Madueke ahead of the 2015 election and for which she is standing trial before Justice Muslim Hassan of the Federal High Court in Lagos.

An EFCC investigator, Usman Zakari, said the former minister was being investigated for a separate fraud case.Zakari had said during a trial-within-trial on Monday that Mrs. Akinjide’s husband paid N10 million to the Commission in August 2016.

When asked by Akinjide’s lawyer, Chief Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN), if the N10 million was a condition for her release, Mr. Zakari said “No”.

He added: “On August 10, 2016, he volunteered a Sterling Bank draft of N10 million on behalf of his wife as part payment of the N650 million that was traced to her and the co-accused.

“The N10 million was paid by the first defendant’s husband on her behalf and the remaining N640 million has not been paid.”

The witness said the returned N640million was not the balance of the N650million in the ongoing trial.

“I am aware that the sum of N640 million was received from the first defendant in Stanbic IBTC Bank draft in another case investigated by a team tagged, HOPST, which was headed by one Shuaibu Shehu,” Zakari said.