Former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan appears to have more explanation to make to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) besides the $19 million just frozen in her accounts.

Mrs. Jonathan has just been linked with five choice properties including a N5billion hotel in Abuja, The Nation gathered yesterday.

The EFCC is currently studying documents on how the Abuja hotel (names withheld) was built.
It has also dispatched a team of investigators to Yenagoa, Bayelsa State and Port Harcourt, Rivers State for the purpose of establishing the ownership of four properties in the two cities.

The anti-graft agency is likely to confiscate the five properties once it is able to confirm that they belong to Mrs. Jonathan.

One of the pieces of evidence the EFCC has in its possession in its probe of the ex-First Lady is her cumulative pay and perks as a civil servant in Bayelsa State where she rose to the post of Permanent Secretary.

Sources said the pay details are far below the $31million which the ex-First Lady claimed as her legitimately earned money.

The EFCC is insisting that Mrs. Jonathan must account for how she came about the cash wired into the five accounts to which she is a signatory or forfeit it to the Federal Government.

One of the sources familiar with the probe said the money used in acquiring the properties under investigation appears to be gratification to Mrs. Jonathan when her husband was in power.

The source said: “Based on intelligence report, we have isolated five properties allegedly identified with the ex-First Lady. These properties include a N5billion hotel in Abuja and four others in Yenagoa and Port Harcourt.

“A special team has gone to verify all these assets in the affected areas including the contractors engaged, the mode of payment to them, relevant land registration documents, and associates used as fronts.

“In the next few days, we will start questioning all those involved in the acquisition or building of the assets. We are lucky that this investigation has a lot of e-transaction and computerization components. There is no hiding place for anyone involved.

“If at the end of the day the five assets belong to the ex-First Lady, we will approach the court to place all these assets under Interim Assets Forfeiture in line with Sections 28 and 34 of the EFCC (Establishment Act) 2004 and Section 13(1) of the Federal High Court Act, 2004.”
Section 28 of the EFCC Act stipulates that: “Where a person is arrested for an offence under this Act, the Commission shall immediately trace and attach all the assets and properties of the person acquired as a result of such economic or financial crime and shall thereafter cause to be obtained an interim attachment order from the Court.”

Section 13 of the Federal High Court Act reads in part: “The Court may grant an injunction or appoint a receiver by an interlocutory order in all cases in which it appears to the Court to be just or convenient so to do.

“Any such order may be made either unconditionally or on such terms and conditions as the Court thinks just.”

Responding to a question, the source said: “If our investigation reveals that the assets are not owned by Mrs. Patience Jonathan, we will return them to their legitimate owners.”
The Nation also gathered that the EFCC is not about to defreeze Mrs. Jonathan’s accounts under investigation.

“We have retrieved documents on the pay package and monetized perks of Mrs. Patience Jonathan when she was a Permanent Secretary in the government of Bayelsa State. Her total emoluments do not tally with the funds remitted into the five accounts,” an EFCC source said.
“She owes us a duty to explain how she came about these funds. Our investigation showed that the funds came from gratifications; it is left to her to prove otherwise.

“The good thing is that the ex-First Lady was the one who sued EFCC demanding the release of her $31million. She has a duty as a former public officer to explain how she earned the funds. Did she declare these funds in her Assets Declaration Form as a Permanent Secretary?
“We are happy that the case is in court and the onus is on her to prove ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ that she is the owner of the funds. If we had initiated the action, some people by now will be accusing EFCC of witch-hunt.

“But she went to court to exercise her rights under the law. The same law demands that you must seek equity with clean hands. I think the press should take more than a passing interest in what is going on in the court.”

The anti-graft agency claimed last week that it has established a prima facie case of money laundering against the ex-First Lady and 10 others.

The 11 suspects may face trial for money laundering if the recommendation of the investigative team is upheld.
The EFCC declared that “preliminary investigation has also indicted Mrs. Patience Jonathan.”

The other 10 suspects indicted by the investigative team are a former Senior Special Assistant ( Domestic / Household and Social Events to the former President), Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel; Damola Bolodeoku; Dipo Oshodi; Theodora Varinik; Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited; Seagate Property Development and Investment Limited; Globus Integrated Services Limited; Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited and Skye Bank Plc. The report said in part: “Based on the investigation so far carried out, it has revealed that the four fraudulent VISA Platinum USD Card accounts used by Mrs. Patience Goodluck Jonathan has a cumulative balance of $14,029.881.79 which has been swept Post No Debit Card category.

“Again, her personal account, different from the four fraudulent VISA Platinum USD Card accounts, bears the balance of $5,841,426.17.

“Considering the above stated findings, we can safely conclude that a prima facie case of conspiracy to retain proceeds of unlawful activities, retention of the proceeds of unlawful activities, money laundering contrary to Section 15(3) and 18(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012 and forgery contrary to Section 1(2) (c) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap M17, Laws of the Federation, 2004 have been established against the aforementioned suspects.”

Also, Mrs. Jonathan has admitted that she is the owner and signatory to the five accounts in which the Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) found over $22.3million.

She said she has never received any monies from any unknown sources paid into the five accounts.
But she was silent on the sources of the cash wired into the affected accounts.

She however explained that the accounts were opened to facilitate her travel overseas particularly for medical treatment, sundry purchase for herself and her late mother Mrs. Charity Oba (Mama Sisi).

She indicted Wampemo-Owei Dudafa who was the Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to the former President Dr. Jonathan, and Skye Bank officials for registering phony companies for four of the five accounts.

A statement by her Media Office said: “Sometime in 2013, following the advice of top officials of the EFCC then in the company of Wampemo-Owei Dudafa who was the Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to the former President Dr. Jonathan, that she should not travel oversees with cash otherwise she may contravene Money Laundering laws, Mrs. Patience Jonathan agreed to open accounts with Skye Bank Plc and directed Dudafa to see to it.

“Dudafa came with two bank managers (Officials) of Skye Bank Plc with the account opening forms which she duly signed.
“These accounts were all dollar based Platinum Visa cards in respect of five accounts.

“When the bank officials brought the ATM cards for the said accounts of which she is sole signatory, she discovered to her surprise that only one of these accounts bore her personal name while four were in the names of companies not known to her.

“She immediately complained about this anomaly to Dudafa and the bank officials, Demola Doledeoku and Dipo Oshodi came back to the villa with forms to change and convert the said accounts to the personal name of Mrs. Jonathan.

“This was her firm request which the bank officials promised to effect immediately and she duly completed account conversion forms and signed the mandate forms as a the sole signatory, but as it would appear, the said bank officials did not change the Account names despite her request.

“It was in 2014 or thereabout that she was given the ATM cards for all the five accounts with the bank officials promising to exchange the cards for the four reflecting her correct names. This again, the banks officials failed to do despite her repeated request.”

madridguy:
FINALLY PEJ DON ENTER EFCC HOOK AND NO AMOUNT OF CHEAP PROTESTING WILL SET HER FREE. AWAITING FOR THE BORN THROWAWAY CHILDREN TO DEFEND THEIR gods MOTHER AS USUAL.

MEANWHILE, CAN ANYONE HERE CONFIRM THE LOCATION OF pa chukwudi44 and temitemi1, ALERT THEM JUNGLE DON MATURE OOOO.

MAKE MAMA GO ORGANIZE HER BOYS, BURATAI BOYS ARE ALREADY ON GROUND.

bounty007:



Oga go carry her put for dock..
Na so you and your zombies they defend this change government and una master tinubu..upandan..
Abi na pej money una wan use run government? Where turaki yardua dey?
Abi aisha wey use style go underground after ranting foolishly on au she wan take dock fayose?
Wetin make her stop..abi person send her.
See eh..for you face for this country...your dull government go kill that matter..and secretly refund her money..all this una noise no reach to distract people on wetin the happen to our economy..

Una know the shame..una say she steal..yet she d gbo gbo all of una even with your media and online propaganda.
Leave her hard earned money for her..go make your own..tell magu..no need to tell bubu..he knows

madridguy:
Hard earned money? Which company/ministry she worked that made a rich to this level to owns a company worth more 10 Billion?

bounty007:


Take her to court and ask..not on media. believe she will answer you rightly.
Am not patience..but I know deceit and propaganda when I see one.

Between..au did buhari and apc finance 2015 election.cos huge money was involve..and guess most of the players don't have the funds..when individually put together..or if they,How do the individually get the funds?

madridguy:
APC got is campaign fund from Arab Billionaires.

bounty007:
I know deceit and propaganda when I see one

NotNairalandi:
Buhari the ty rant just running round Jonathan...abegi free GEJ and his family to have peace..

bounty007:
Una no dey tire..patience go floor all of una..even with una media triall..she still dey halla.on her "hard earned money" naim lazy ones wan use ojukokoro chop.

Abeymills:
Pls free dis woman all dis hypocrites locked our economy down destroying every thing shouting corruption meanwhile they ar most corrupt

HungerBAD:
It is getting interesting.
First, In 1998 Patience Ebele Jonathan had a struggling Shop,in Port-Harcourt selling Water and Ice Blocks. Today she has more money than Osun,Ebonyi,Jigawa,Taraba,Zamfara and Oyo State combined together.
For once,all APC and PDP should come together to do the right thing,by making sure this woman is prosecuted and her properties forfeited to "US" the people of Nigeria.

bounty007:


Take her to court and ask..not on media. believe she will answer you rightly.
Am not patience..but I know deceit and propaganda when I see one.

Between..au did buhari and apc finance 2015 election.cos huge money was involve..and guess most of the players don't have the funds..when individually put together..or if they,How do the individually get the funds?

HungerBAD:
It is getting interesting.

First,I have to commend the EFCC For a Job well done,but the truth is,some of these investigation should have been kept in the dark so that plenty of criminal evidence can be gathered against this woman.

This woman in the Court Of Public Opinion,is guilty already,so there is no needs for leaks to the press.

I want the EFCC to charge her to Court,so she can be found guilty in a Court of Law.

People are blaming Buhari for the Economic slump in Nigeria,while deliberately forgetting that the Oil which is the Engine of our Country is like the Price of Vegetables in the International market.

Monies running into Billions of $ which would have cushioned or padded the economy,was stolen by Vultures all gathered in PDP,starting from the first lady.

I mean,some Billions was even flown in a Private Jet and given to Fayose.

There comes a time,when this is no longer about Politics or party affiliations. I want those supporting this woman to take a step back,and just count the Billions in $ both in Cash and Properties traced to her.

In 1998 Patience Ebele Jonathan had a struggling Shop,in Port-Harcourt selling Water and Ice Blocks. Today she has more money than Osun,Ebonyi,Jigawa,Taraba,Zamfara and Oyo State combined together.

This is not a Witch hunt. This is the right thing to do.

For once,all APC and PDP should come together to do the right thing,by making sure this woman is prosecuted and her properties forfeited to "US" the people of Nigeria.

madridguy:
APC got is campaign fund from Arab Billionaires.