Nigeria’s former First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan has accused the country’s Anti-Graft Agency, EFCC of a ploy to confisticate her $15m.
The EFCC had on Thursday presented four persons in court representing companies linked to Waripamo Dudafa, an Aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The four companies pleaded guilty to laundering the sum of $15 million that Mrs Jonathan is claiming belongs to her.
But Chima Osuji, Media Aide to Mrs Jonathan in a statement on Thursday, alleged that the four persons that appeared in court were arranged by the EFCC so as to have basis to confisticate her Principal’s money.
According to her, the persons were not known and not authorised to represent the various companies in court.
She posited that the EFCC failed to comply with Section 477 (2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, by not presenting to the court on Thursday any letter to show that the four persons were authorised by the companies to represent them.
“The biggest twist in court on Thursday was that the fourth to seventh defendants pleaded guilty to all the 15 counts. It is clear that these unknown faces were agents of the EFCC, who have been stage-managed and tutored to come to court to complicate the case as a strategy to confiscate her money.
“This is a clear evidence of the desperation of the prosecution to pull down the former First Lady and confiscate her hard-earned money.”
The Media Aide stated further that “It is an irony that it was the former First Lady who went to court for the repatriation of her confiscated money when she realised that the EFCC and its co-travellers were playing politics with this issue after she had come out publicly to say that the said money belongs to her and that she has all evidence to prove the sources of her money. Up till this very moment, the EFCC has refused to interrogate or invite her for questioning,” Osuji stated.
