Ohakim paid N270m cash for Asokoro property – EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,(EFCC) Tuesday, gave account of how a former governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim bought his current Asokoro residence before an Abuja Federal High Court.

According to the EFCC, the former bought the property and paid $2.900,000 (N270,000,000) cash in a single day.

The anti-graft made this disclosure at the resumed hearing of Ohakim’s money laundering case before Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

A prosecution witness, Ishaya Daudu, gave a detailed account of how Ohakim made a cash payment for a piece of land at Plot No. 1098 Cadastral Zone A04, Asokoro District, also known as No.60, Kwame Nkrumah Street, Asokoro, Abuja and also tendered statements already volunteered by the suspects in the matter.

According to Dauda, investigation into the alleged offence began in 2010, after the commission received petitions coupled with intelligence reports.

The witness, a Senior Detective Superintendent with the EFCC, who was led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Festus Keyamo, said Ohakim was invited to the EFCC office in 2013.

“I gave him the petitions to go through and asked him if he would be willing to volunteer a statement or not and he answered in the affirmative. I then administered the word of caution and EFCC statement form on him. I also asked him whether he understood the word of caution and he said yes; then, he signed the form, indicating that he understood the word of caution,” he told the court.

Continuing, Dauda said the accused person was given the EFCC Asset Declaration form to fill, in addition to his statements that were obtained five times between 2013 and 2015.

Read also: Ohakim says predicament handiwork of political foes

EFCC tendered copies of the five statements, which were obtained on January 25, 2013; January 31, 2013; June 18, 2015; June 22, 2015 and June 29, 2015, and were admitted in evidence as exhibits EFCC 1 to 5.

The witness also disclosed that the accused person made copious statements regarding the said property.

“Working on the intelligence reports at our disposal, after the accused person had declared his assets, it was discovered that there was no banking transaction for the purchase of the property. We found out that only cash payment was made in respect of the property. So, we took the accused person to the property. When we brought him back to our office, we asked him who owns the property and he said he rented the property through one Abu Sule, Managing Director, Tweeenex Consociate H.D. Limited.”

It will be recalled that Justice Ademola had admitted Ohakim, who served as Imo State governor between 2007 and 2011, to bail on Thursday, July 9, 2015, following his arraignment on Wednesday, July 8, 2015 by the EFCC, on a three-count charge bordering on money laundering.

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