Alleged N3.1b Fraud: Ex-Minister Sneaks Out Of Nigeria As EFCC Closes In

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As the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) closes in on the suspected architects of an alleged N3.145b fraud, an unnamed former minister has sneaked out of the country, The Nation is reporting.

Six stalwarts of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Goodluck Support Group (GSG) were indicted in investigations into this latest round of alleged fraud uncovered by the anti-graft agency.

The cash, meant for the funding of the campaign of former President Goodluck Jonathan, was reportedly drawn on the orders of the Presidential Villa and paid into a coded account tagged Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Library.

The account was said to have been deployed by the Presidential Villa allegedly on instructions by the former president and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) for “strategic assignments”.

Some of the key suspects, including some bureaucrats, have offered to return the funds, even as the EFCC has concluded plans to invite some of those implicated for interrogation.

According to sources, the former minister sneaked out of the country on Sunday for a destination yet to be ascertained as at press time.

A source, who spoke in confidence “in order not to jeaopardise the investigation”, said: “The EFCC has been on the case for some time and one or two of the suspects at a point came to make statements. But one of the former ministers who was also connected with the matter has jetted out.

“The ex-minister left the country quietly on Sunday. No one can say her actual destination and whether or not it was a routine trip abroad or a self-imposed exile.

“The reality is that there is no hiding place for any former public officer. Wherever a suspect is, the EFCC will repatriate such a person”.

The newspaper confirmed Tuesday night that the N3.145billion was drawn from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) following directives from the Presidential Villa and wired into the coded account.