BEVERLY HILLS, July 17, (THEWILL) – The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has seized some properties, worth millions of naira, belonging to Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State.
THEWILL gathered that the properties located in the highbrow areas of Lagos and Abuja were seized as part of investigations into the N1.219bn the governor allegedly received through a former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) under Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd).
The EFCC invoked the Assets Forfeiture clause to seize the properties, allegedly purchased with stolen funds, in line with Sections 28 and 34 of the EFCC (Establishment Act) 2004 and Section 13(1) of the Federal High Court Act, 2004.
A visit to two of the properties on 32 Yedseram Street and 44 Osun River Crescent, Maitama, Abuja, had the inscriptions ‘EFCC, Keep Off’ on the fences.
Fayose allegedly bought the property on Osun River Crescent in the name of his London-based sister, Mrs. Moji Ladeji and bought four duplexes located at Plot 100 Tiamiyu Savage Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, through a company, JJ Technical.
THEWILL recalls that Fayoses’s three Zenith Bank accounts were frozen by the anti-graft agency less than a month ago.
In his reaction, however, Fayose however insisted that the said properties linked to him were not bought with stolen funds.
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the governor said any property that might be linked to him or his company was “bought legitimately and his properties were duly declared in his assets declaration form and sources of such funds were not illicit.”
He said since the money he got for his election was from legitimate sources and not from the ONSA, “how the money was spent remained his own business and not that of anyone.”
Story by David Oputah
