~Kaboom!!!~ Senator Akpabio and Wife Land in Trouble with EFCC

Nigeria - The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has seized a school belonging to Unoma Akpabio, the wife of the immediate past governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio as part of investigations into the former governor accused of alleged stealing N108bn during his tenure from 2007 to 2015.

According to a report by Punch, the school identified as St. John Paul II School, in Shelter Afrique, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State has been marked as “under investigation by EFCC.”

However, because of the innocent students and parents who paid school fees being affecte, the EFCC resorted not to shut down the school. A police van has been stationed outside the school gate.

According to him, the school is serene with normal academic activities taking place. The spokesman for the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, could not be reached on the telephone on Wednesday. However, a senior operative at the commission confirmed that the school had been seized.

“I understand our operatives were recently in Akwa Ibom and did mark a school as ‘under investigation,’” he said.

The PUNCH had exclusively reported in August 2016 that the EFCC is intensifying investigation into the former governor and was planning to seize his properties and freeze accounts linked to him.

The EFCC had written five banks demanding information on Akwa Ibom State finances under Akpabio’s administration.

The commission also invited key members of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly and serving commissioners many of whom served during the ex-governor’s administration.

A source at the EFCC said, “We have written to Zenith Bank, Keystone Bank, FCMB, Skye Bank, and UBA demanding information on the state’s accounts. We are also inviting the accountant-general, the auditor-general, the Speaker and the clerk of the House of Assembly.

“We have traced some houses to the former governor in Lagos and Abuja and it is just a matter of time before we seize them.”

The EFCC had started looking into Akpabio last year when he was first quizzed by detectives following a series of petitions written against him.

Akpabio, who is now the Senate Minority Leader, was accused of embezzling public funds while he was governor of the oil-rich state.

He was accused of lavish spending such that on March 2013, he openly gave N1m each to the six chairmen of the Peoples Democratic Party from the South-South geopolitical zone who had converged on Port Harcourt for a party reconciliation session and told them to use the money to ‘buy Mr. Biggs’

As the commission was investigating the ex-governor, the Akwa Ibom State Government, headed to a state High Court to get an interim order barring the EFCC from investigating his administration.

The Justice Ntong Ntong-led court on July 15, 2016, granted an interim injunction, restraining the EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission; and the Inspector-General of Police from investigating the finances of the Akwa Ibom State Government.

The suit was filed on behalf of the state government by the state Attorney General, Uwemedimo Nwoko, who also served under Akpabio and is believed to be loyal to the former governor.

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK  
> facebook Global audience 
> facebook Nigerian audience  

FOLLOW US ON:
> The Forefront on Twitter
>BBM Channel: C002CB006 {WELCOME TO THE FOREFRONT
>{Instagram: the_forefront_nigeria }

Connect with Joshua Osagie (Blog owner) 

 >  facebook personal account 
 > facebook  (fan page) 

 > twitter

 > Instagram: osagiejoshua

Share this post with others on social media with options below.