The House of Representatives has asked the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to reveal the whistleblowers that gave them information to raid Patience Jonathan’s property.
House Committee on Public Petition gave the order during the hearing of a petition recently submitted by the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Mrs Jonathan had in the petition alleged that she had been serially harassed by officials of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), the Federal Inland Revenue Service, (FIRS), NDLEA, as well as the Nigeria Police Force.
During the hearing on Wednesday, the NDLEA was present to defend its actions on the matter. Following their presentation, the chairman of the committee, Nkem Abonta, directed the secretariat to send reminders to the other agencies and asked them to appear on September 19.
The NDLEA represented by one of its directors, Femi Oloruntoba, accepted that it carried out a raid on a property belonging to the former First Lady and located at Igbeti Rock Street, Maitama, Abuja.
According to him, the agency carried out the raid following a tip-off and claimed that the law establishing the agency authorises it to carry out operations. He added that the identity cards of the officials were their warrant.
The lawmakers during the meeting demanded to know if the agency tenders apology to people when it fails to make any discovery of unlawful items against the accused.
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Granville Abibo (SAN) & Co, counsel to Mrs Jonathan, led by Sammie Somiari, earlier told the committee that the EFCC and other government agencies had continued to harass and embarrass the former first lady in the media unjustly.
The legal team, which also made the petition on behalf of Mrs Jonathan, added that various accounts of the former first lady including those of Aridolf Jo Resort Wellness and Spa Limited off Okota Estate, and Finchley Top Homes Limited with branches in Abuja, Port Harcourt and Yenagoa, had been frozen.
Somiari said, “The EFCC has serially orchestrated a design to freeze the personal accounts of Mrs Jonathan, her siblings and other relations and associates.”
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