EFCC traces N1.5bn to ex-finance minister’s son

monjola sotubo

March 14, 2016 1:13 PM

The revelation was made by a bureau de change operator, identified as Salisu Umaru, who told the EFCC that he received the money on behalf of the ex-minister’s son.

Officials of the EFCC

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The revelation was made by a bureau de change operator, identified as Salisu Umaru, who told the EFCC that he received the money on behalf of the ex-minister’s son, The Nation reports.

“I was invited by EFCC and when I reported, I was shown my company’s account statement with Zenith Bank called Jabama Ada Global Nigeria Limited in which there was an inflow of N500million on 5/2/2015 and N1billion on 16/4/2015 into the account from the Office of the National Security Adviser,” Salisu said.

“On the inflow of N500million into my company’s account on 5/2/2015, I wish to state as follows : That on the same date(5/2/2015), I paid the equivalent of US$2,380,952 to the son of the minister, being the equivalent of the said N500million at the rate of N210 per dollar.

“I do not know what he used the money for. My own business is to buy and sell dollars. It is only the minister’s son that can explain what the money was meant for. The minister’s son signed and collected the said N500million.

“On the N1billion inflow into my company’s account on 16/4/2015, I wish to say the money was disbursed as follows: $1,000,000, being the equivalent of N220million; and $327,000 (equivalent of N72,600,000) were paid cash to the son of the minister while the sum of N704,400,000 was transferred to various accounts based on the instruction of the minister’s son. He gave some of the instructions through text messages. Some of the instructions were also received from the father.

“I also want to state that I do not know what the N1billion was meant for and what it was used for,” he added.

The sum is believed to be part of the $2.1 billion arms deal fund which was allegedly laundered under the supervision of former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki.

He was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) on December 1, 2015 and handed over to the EFCC the following day.

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The former NSA is reported to have implicated several prominent persons in the deal including former governors, ex-ministers and members of the PDP.

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Dasuki was released on bail from Kuje Prison in December 2015 but was soon re-arrested by the DSS.

monjola sotubo