Politics
The truth about Fani-Kayode’s wife, son’s detention –EFCC
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has denied detaining the wife and 8-month-old son of a former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, at Access Bank in Ado Ekiti on Monday.
It would be recalled that Fani-Kayode’s wife, Sonia Chikwendu, alongside their son, was prevented from leaving the bank by officials who cited instructions from the EFCC, between 3pm and 7pm before Governor Ayodele Fayose intervened and got her released.
However, the EFCC in a Monday night statement by spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said the ex-minister’s wife attempted to withdraw money from an account which the agency had frozen.
He said, “Contrary to the spin about the purported arrest of mother and child, a certain Chikwendu Sonia today attempted to withdraw money from an Access Bank account that had been placed on ‘Post No Debit’ Category, following the discovery of illicit cash flows into the account.
“She was intercepted by the bank while the commission was notified, but because it was late, the EFCC advised that the suspect be taken to the police station for processing and release on bail.
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“They were arranging to take the suspect to the police station when Governor Ayo Fayose stormed the bank with thugs and his personal security and forcefully secured the release of the suspect, with claims that the EFCC had no power to detain anybody in his state. He also vowed to close down the branch of the bank.
“The said account, which had a balance of N2,307,712.82, was flagged following investigation into the PDP Joint Trust Fund when the commission traced N1.1bn to the Zenith Bank account of Fani-Kayode.
“It was discovered that the account had two biometric identification numbers, one for Fani-Kayode and the other (with BVN 2205597283) for Sonia Chikwendu. The same BVN is linked to two other accounts in Diamond Bank and 15 accounts in Guaranty Trust Bank”, the anti-graft agency said.
By Timothy Enietan-Matthews…
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