EFCC uncovers illegal financial transaction

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has got a major lead into how a judge under its investigation obtained N18 million from the Managing Director of a major oil and gas company to buy a house in London while still serving as a Federal High Court judge.
The anti- corruption agency stumbled on the fresh lead while
interrogating Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, one of the six judges being probed over alleged corrupt practices, while
serving in the Temple of Justice.
The female judge, who turned in herself to EFCC for
questioning last week, and is undergoing routine questioning
by security agents over suspected cash receipts, admitted that she actually got the said N18 million as a loan from a ‘family friend’ who happened to be a major player in the sector of the Nigerian oil industry,inorder to buy a house in the United Kingdom.

A top source, who unveiled the amount in
the course of investigating the judge, said the amount was
wired to a foreign account from the judge’s domiciliary
account for the purchase of a property in the UK.
The agency did not, however, disclose the location of the property in the UK.
The EFCC last night began questioning the MD of the firm in order to get the truth about the loan.

A top EFCC source disclosed that the money was
transferred by the businessman to Justice Ajumogobia’s account in 2012, revealing that there was no paper to
indicate that it was a loan, as claimed by her.
The source said:
“The Commission stumbled on the N18 million wired to a
foreign account from her domiciliary account for the purchase of a property in the United Kingdom. However, Justice Ajumogobia claimed that it was a loan obtained privately from a family friend.
“The ‘family friend’, who is Chairman of an Oil and Gas
Company from where the funds emanated, in the course of interrogation,told operatives that" the money was an assistance he rendered to
her.”