Agents of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have
discovered the sum of N2.5 billion in a bank account opened in the name
of a housemaid to former Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, who is now a
senator representing Anambra State in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Two senior EFCC sources told our correspondent that the bank account
and its huge deposits had been opened and operated without the knowledge
of the former minister’s housemaid. “Senator Oduah apparently opened
the account with her housemaid’s name, image, and details without the
housemaid knowing about it,” said one EFCC agent familiar with the
scandal.
Another EFCC source told SaharaReporters that Ms. Oduah had been
going around to some top officials of the Muhammadu Buhari
administration seeking their help to scuttle her impending trial. Last
week, she asked for a meeting with EFCC chairman Ibrahim Magu, claiming
she wanted to meet in her official capacity as a senator.
The two EFCC sources who briefed our correspondent on the “housemaid”
account disclosed that Ms. Oduah was the sole signatory to the account,
adding that they were still connecting the dots to uncover how the
ex-Aviation Minister managed to pull off such a money laundering
operation.
“As of last week, the account was still active and contained over
N2.5 billion,” said one EFCC source. He added that he could not
ascertain whether the EFCC chairman, who is currently traveling in Saudi
Arabia for lesser hajj, had ordered the freezing of the account.
One of our EFCC sources revealed that the discovery of the “maid”
account meant that the former minister must have stolen as much as N5.6
billion so far from the Aviation Ministry’s funds during her ministerial
term.
SaharaReporters had revealed in earlier reports that EFCC
investigators had so far determined that Ms. Oduah split N3.6 billion
that she acquired illegally among eight companies.
In August 2015, Ms. Oduah filed an application at a Federal High
Court to stop the EFCC from investigating allegations that she bought
two ostensibly bulletproof BMW cars at $1.6 million, or $800,000 apiece.
A controversial judge, Justice Mohammed Yunusa, initially granted the
order sought by Senator Oduah. However, in February 2016, after Justice
Yunusa was transferred out of Lagos, another federal high court judge
vacated the order, permitting the EFCC to carry on with its
investigation.
SaharaReporters had broken the report about the BMW scam during Ms.
Oduah’s ministerial tenure. Several BMW dealers in Europe and North
America told our reporters that what the Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority (NCAA) paid for the two BMW cars far exceeded the price ranges
for such bulletproof automobiles.
Ms. Oduah is a close ally of embattled Senate President Bukola
Saraki, who is the defendant in two criminal trials in Abuja pertaining
to forgery and false declaration of assets.
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