Stella Oduah, senator representing Anambra north, reportedly acquired
four London properties while she was serving as minister of aviation.
This was revealed in a Pandora
Papers project led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
(ICIJ), and which Premium Times is a part of.
According to Premium Times, leaked
documents showed that Oduah acquired the said properties through an offshore
company between 2011 and 2014. The report revealed Oduah as the owner of
International Trading and Logistics Company Limited (ITCL) which was
incorporated in Seychelles.
Oduah reportedly used the offshore ITCL to acquire the properties worth £6.7 million between October 2012 and August 2013.
The newspaper quoted the UK Land
Registry records as saying one of the properties was bought for £5.3m on
October 19, 2012, while the remaining three were bought in August 2013 for
£378,000, £369,000, and £680,000 respectively.
“Records show that none of the
four properties was bought with mortgage financing, meaning Ms Oduah routed 6.7
million pounds through her offshore company to anonymously effect the
acquisitions,” the paper said.
“Ms Oduah’s houses are among the
234 UK properties our investigation showed were anonymously acquired by
offshore companies, with Nigerians as ultimate beneficial owners.”
According to the paper, using the
Seychelles-incorporated company would enable the former minister to avoid
checks by the UK about the sources of her funds and also “avoid possible
investigation and prosecution in Nigeria for owning undeclared assets or acquiring
them as a public servant”.
According to the report, a total
of seven London properties are connected to Oduah. She was said to have
purchased one in 2006 before she became a minister; two through her
Nigerian-incorporated ITCL in 2011, and the last four acquired through her
Seychelles offshore ITCL between 2012 and 2013.
The newspaper said it is unclear
how Oduah raised the funds to purchase the properties or if she declared them
to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) while she was a minister. It added that
evidence showed that she retained her directorship of the offshore company
while holding public office.
Earlier in the year, the former
minister was billed to be
arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
alongside eight others for alleged financial fraud. The EFCC had alleged that
Oduah misappropriated public funds while serving as a minister.
In July, a federal high court in
Abuja threatened to issue a warrant of arrest on the former minister over her
continuous absence in court.
One month later, Oduah defected from
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and joined the ruling All Progressive
Congress (APC).
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com