How Patience Jonathan Used Houseboy, Driver’s Names To Open $15m Accounts

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has arrested a driver, houseboy and two other domestic staff, whose names were used by four companies to open bank accounts for Mrs Dame Patience Jonathan, the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan.



The companies are Pluto Property
and Investment Company Limited,
Seagate Property Development and
Investment Company Limited, Trans
Ocean Property and Investment
Company Limited and Globus Integrated Service Limited.

The former First Lady who said she
owns the money in the accounts said she gave millions of dollars to the then Special Adviser to the President on Domestic Affairs, Waripamowei Dudafa, to open accounts for her.

But a detective at the EFCC revealed
that Dudafa used his domestic
servants’ names to open the four
other accounts and then deposited
the money into the accounts.

“We were investigating Dudafa when we stumbled on those four
companies’ domiciliary accounts
opened at Skye Bank with a balance
of about $15m. On further
investigation, we were able to identify the directors of the
companies.

“When we detained the directors, we found out that they were Dudafa’s domestic servants. One of them was a houseboy while another one was a driver. Their photographs were used in opening the accounts and their signatures were forged.

“We found out that these domestic
servants were completely innocent
because they had no access to the
accounts. We have since released
them. The sole signatory to the
accounts was Patience Jonathan and she was issued with a special card, which is accepted worldwide. She has a separate account, which was opened in her name and has a
balance of $5m,” he told Punch
newspaper.

EFCC source also said two Skye Bank
executives, Demola Bolodeoku and
Dipo Oshodi, who helped Dudafa to
open the accounts on March 22,
2010, were also being investigated.

“This is a clear case of fraud and
there is no way the bank officials will say they did not know what was going on. They are under
investigation and those found
culpable will be arraigned,” the detective added.

The EFCC operative said he could not confirm if the transaction was
reported to the Nigeria Financial
Intelligence Unit revealing that the
commission had discovered a trend
which politicians used in laundering and concealing funds.

“What we have noticed is that in
order to conceal funds, what
politicians and top civil servants do is
to open bank accounts in the name
of family or friends and then make
themselves the sole signatory to the account.

“Don’t forget that we traced about 17 bank accounts to the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief
Marshal Alex Badeh (retd.).

“Often times, they do this in
connivance with bank officials and
that is why the EFCC Chairman, Mr.
Ibrahim Magu, has said henceforth,
whenever we are investigating a
bank official, we will probe the entire bank as well because these officials usually act under the instruction of their superiors.”

Jonathan’s wife has, however, sued
Skye Bank for freezing her bank
accounts and giving the EFCC vital
information about her finances.