EFCC raids Ambode’s house over N9.9 billion Lagos funds

 

BY EMMANUEL OGWU

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Tuesday raided the Epe residence of the former governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode.

Ambode was not at home as at the time of the raid, for according to an aide he had traveled outside the country.

EFCC spokesman Tony Orilade said the raid was in connection with an ongoing investigation into finances of Lagos State under the former governor.

“It is just the continuation of the ongoing investigation,” he said.

EFCC had secured a court order to freeze three accounts belonging to Lagos State earlier in the month. The accounts are domiciled in First City Monument Bank, Access Bank and Zenith Bank.

The accounts, EFCC said, needed to be frozen until the conclusion of the investigation and possible prosecution of Adewale Adesanya, the permanent secretary in the Office of the Chief of Staff to Ambode, who operated the accounts.

EFCC said the FCMB account received “a huge inflow of N9,927,714,443.29” from the accounts of Lagos State Government.

The commission said its records showed that the account was opened on September 18, less than a month to the day Ambode finally lost the APC primary election to his main challenger then, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

“There have been concerted efforts and attempts to dissipate the contents of the accounts listed in the schedule to this application,” EFCC lawyer Mohammed Abbas told Justice Chuka Obiozor of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on August 6.

“Without freezing the nominated accounts and temporarily forfeiting the money to the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, there is no way the fraud being perpetrated using the scheduled accounts can be stopped.”

Ambode, however, said he has nothing to do with the said accounts.

“The former Governor was not and will never be involved in any unauthorised use of government property and resources,” Ambode’s media aide Habib Aruna said in a statement on August 9.

Aruna said the investigated accounts were opened for administrative purpose of Lagos State Government and not for the former Ambode’s personal transactions.