The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has
terminated the money laundering case filed against Ayo Oke (pictured), former
director-general of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) over the discovery
of $43 million, £27,000 and N23 million in an Ikoyi flat.
On Friday, June 9, Chukwujekwu Aneke, the presiding of the
federal high court in Ikoyi, Lagos, struck out the case.
The termination was initiated by the EFCC, with no objection
from the defence team led by Kayode Ajulo of the Castle of Law Chambers.
The case was terminated on national security grounds.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari reportedly approved the
termination of the case before he left office.
WHAT IS IKOYI $43M?
In April 2017, EFCC said it had discovered $43 million,
£27,000 and N23 million stashed in a flat on Osborne Road in Ikoyi after a
tip-off from a whistle blower.
Following reports that the monies belonged to the NIA,
TheCable subsequently reported that the agency had collected $289,202,382 in
cash for special operations from the account of the National Petroleum
Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in
February 2015.
NIA said the funds were part of “covert intelligence
operations” but there was public outcry that it was a case of looting.
A three-man panel headed by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo
indicted Oke and recommended his dismissal, which was effected in October same
year.
On January 20, 2019, Osinbajo said criminal allegations
would be filed against Oke and Babachir Lawal, former secretary to the
government of the federation, following a directive from Buhari.
Sources in the intelligence community told TheCable that
subjecting Oke to open trial might compromise the nation’s security operations.
“Most of the projects financed by NIA from the funds are
aimed at gathering intelligence and these things are usually done through cash
transactions. Government might have succumbed to public sentiments to treat it
as a crime, but there will be dire consequences for the nation’s security
operations,” an NIA operative said
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