The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has recovered N900million from Mr. Waripamowei Dudafa, a former Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.
A reliable source at the EFCC told disclosed on Sunday that the money was found in one of Dudafa’s accounts, which was immediately frozen.
The source said, “Dudafa told us that he had no money; so, we began to investigate his accounts. We then found N900m that was hidden in one of his accounts through the connivance of his account officer. “Dudafa initially denied owning the account but when he was confronted with evidence, he had no choice but to admit. Some people, who had paid money into the account based on Dudafa’s instructions, even came forward to say that the account indeed belonged to Dudafa. The N900m will be used as evidence against him in court.” Dudafa, a close aide and kinsman of Jonathan, was arrested on April 18 at the Murtala Airport in Lagos. The former presidential aide, alongside Jonathan’s ex Aide-de-Camp, Col. Ojogbane Adegbe, was accused of sharing as much as N10bn to delegates at the presidential primary of the Peoples Democratic Party in December 2014, in which Jonathan was the only candidate. The money was allegedly diverted by the Office of the NSA from a Signature Bonus Account in CBN.
The N10bn is believed to have been diverted from oil receipts as follows: $5m (November 14, 2014); $47m (November 27, 2014); €4m (December 3, 2014) and €1.6m (December 24, 2014). Dudafa was said to have fled to either Dubai where he stayed for several months. He was later arrested by the SSS on arrival and the EFCC is set for his prosecution.
