N900m Notes Did Not Disappear in EFCC Custody, Says Commission
Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday denied reports that N900 million notes recovered from bank officials facing trial at an Ibadan High Court was pilfered by its operatives.
The commission said contrary to reports bank officials were responsible for tampering with the 106 boxes containing the mutilated currencies. The anti-graft agency said the pilfering of the boxes was one of the reasons why the bankers are in court.
A statement issued by EFCC said the court only ordered the commission to produce the boxes as evidence and not on the the basis that the commission tampered with it as reported.
The statement signed by the Spokesman of the Commission, Wilson Ewujaren, said the thrust of the case was on tampering with the mutilated currencies domiciled at the Central Bank of Nigeria( CBN).
“The attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has been drawn to reports by a section of the online media alleging that N900 million (Nine Hundred Million Naira) mutilated Naira notes, recovered from bank officials currently being prosecuted before the Federal High Court, Ibadan had been tampered with by operatives of the Commission.
“The reports which supposedly emanated from the October 4 proceedings of the Federal High Court,Ibadan claimed that the trial Judge, Justice P.I Ajoku made the discovery that operatives of the Commission tampered with the boxes containing the money”, it said. The commission further stated that “it is important to state that this narrative is false and calculated to mislead the public.
“At no time during the proceedings did Justice Ajoku accuse the Commission of tampering with any box. The only order made by the court was for the EFCC to produce the 106 boxes containing the mutilated currencies as evidence.
“How the order to produce the boxes turned into an indictment for tampering with N900million only exist in the warped imagination of the purveyors of the false report”.