The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has on
Friday intensified investigation into the N1.35billion property scandal against
Governor Ayodele Fayose by grilling his associate, Abiodun Agbele, and three
more people connected with the deal. Those questioned including a businesswoman,
an accountant and an estate consultant, lasted more than eight hours.
According to investigation, the EFCC invited the three
professionals for a tell-all session and to either corroborate or respond to
Agbele’s revelations to its investigating team.
A top source said: “You are already aware that Agbele has
been in detention in the past two weeks. He has made some confessions, but we
need to invite those he wired money into their accounts.
“So, we have invited a businesswoman, an accountant and an
estate consultant. We had an interactive session with these professionals for
about eight hours. It took time because it was a ‘tell-all’ session. We have
retrieved all relevant bank statements on how Agbele used the account of his
company, De-Privateer, to pay for the four duplexes on Tiamiyu Savage Street on
Victoria Island.
“The said properties were no doubt acquired by Agbele on
behalf of Fayose. As a matter of fact, the governor was actively involved in
the negotiation of the properties going by call logs.”
As at 6.32pm, the questioning of Agbele and others was still
in progress.
Meanwhile, attempts to cover up for the governor have failed
following botched overtures by Fayose’s emissaries to companies which purchased
the duplexes.
Another source added: “These emissaries persuaded the
companies to lie to the EFCC that the N1.35billion was a refund of the loan
given to Fayose’s associate. But the affected firms refused to buy into the
script of the governor’s emissaries. Instead, the companies released the
details of the transactions in line with their commitment to business fidelity.
“The companies said they cannot go to the EFCC with fairy
tales of a loan facility in order to obstruct investigation. The emissaries,
who felt disappointed, also threatened to deal with the owners of these
companies,” The Nation gathered.
The payment for the duplexes was wired into three accounts
as follows: FCMB belonging to Siqnachor (0519693019), First Bank of Nigeria
(1000070240) and Zenith Bank (1014016919) of Still Earth Limited.
The breakdown of some of the remittances reads: First
Bank—N40m (29/1/15); N39.5m (30/1/15); N132.5 (30/1/ 15); N3.2m (4/2/15); N980,
000(4/2/15); N200m (17/2/15); N47m (13/2/15); and N50m (13/2/15).
The lodgments in an account in Zenith Bank (1014016919)
included N42.5m (9/4/15); N25m (23/4/15); and N229m (6/3/15).
Agbele, also through De-Privateer, paid N200million into the
account of Siqnachor Integrated Limited in FCMB (0519693019) on March 9, 2015.
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