NIA DG Oke’s wife bought Ikoyi flat for $1.6m cash –EFCC

NIA DG Oke’s wife bought Ikoyi flat for $1.6m cash –EFCC

 The flat 7B, No. 13, Osborne Road, Osborne Towers, Ikoyi Lagos, where the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) uncovered the sums of $43,449,947, £27,800 and N23,218,000 belongs to Mrs. Folashade Oke, wife of suspended National Intelligence Agency (NIA) boss, Amb. Ayodele Oke.

This was disclosed by the EFCC on Friday, adding that she made cash payment of $1.658million for the purchase of the flat between August 25 and September 3, 2015.

It was learnt that the NIA DG’s wife bought the property in the name of a company, Chobe Ventures Limited, a company she and her son, Master Ayodele Oke Junior, are directors.

Further findings by the anti-graft agency is said to have revealed that the payment for the purchase of the flat was made to one Fine and Country Limited.

The commission added that Mrs. Oke made the cash payment in tranches of $700,000, $650,000 and $353,700 to a Bureau de Change company, Sulah Petroleum and Gas Limited, which helped in converting the sums into N360, 000,000 and later paid to Fine and Country Limited for the purchase of the property.

The receipt hand out by Fine and Country Limited to Chobe Ventures Limited was tendered by the EFCC as an exhibit before the Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday.

The commission is seeking a court order of final forfeiture of the recovered money to the Federal Government.

Presenting the matter before the court, counsel for the EFCC, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo said, “The circumstances leading to the discovery of the huge sums stockpiled in Flat 7B, Osborne Towers leaves no one in doubt that the act was pursuant to an unlawful activity.

“The very act of making cash payment of $1.6m without going through any financial institution by Mrs. Folashade Oke for the acquisition of Flat 7B, Osborne Towers, is a criminal act punishable by the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Amendment Act. I refer My Lord to sections 1(a), 16(d) and 16(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Amendment Act.”

Mohammed Chiroma, an EFCC detective, in an affidavit filed before the court argued that “Chobe Ventures Limited is not into any business but was merely incorporated to retain proceeds of suspected unlawful activities of Mrs. Folashade Oke.”

Counsel to EFCC prayed the presiding judge, Justice Muslim Hassan, to order the permanent forfeiture of the funds to the Federal Government, on the basis that Flat 7B, Osborne Towers, was purchased in a criminal manner, which made the N13billion uncovered there “extremely suspicious to be proceeds of unlawful acts.”

He further said that no one has showed up in court to show cause why the money should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government as ordered by the court.