EFCC wants Secondus to pay N310m for 23 cars collected

An offer by the Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Uche Secondus to return about 23 luxury cars received from an oil baron associate of former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been turned down by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

It was gathered that the anti-graft commission preferred to have the value of the vehicles, about N310 milion returned to government coffers, arguing that they would have depreciated in value since they were received by the then ruling party.

A source within the commission revealed, that Secondus may remain in detention for a while as the agency is still probing his relationship with the oil baron, which they might provide more revelations beyond the 23 vehicles.

The source said: “Secondus is still under interrogation because there are fresh clues we are looking into on how diverted oil receipts from the oil magnate were used for logistics for the PDP.

Read also: PDP kicks as EFCC detains Secondus

“The Deputy National Chairman of PDP has admitted that he collected the 23 vehicles from the oil baron.

“At a point during the interrogation, Secondus voluntarily offered to return all the vehicles to EFCC. He said he was willing to retrieve the vehicles from the beneficiaries.”

The source did not rule out the possibility that Secondus might face trial, but quickly added, that “investigation is yet to be completed.”

The vehicles bazaar has created shocks in PDP because most leaders of the party were unaware, and were only hearing about it for the first time.

Meanwhile, the EFCC is detaining one Donald Chidi Amamgbo, a cousin of Mrs. Alison-Madueke, for allegedly using four firms to illegally lift crude oil said to be worth billions of dollars.

The arrest of Amamgbo is rated as a major breakthrough for the EFCC in its ongoing probe of the ex-Minister.

The suspect, who was arrested in Lagos, was branded as a “front” for the ex-Minister.

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