Details of how the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) retrieved about $10 million from a former Chief Executive of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, emerged Friday.
It was learnt that given the nature of the effort required to track and recover the huge sum of money hidden by the former GMD, Dr. Andrew Yakubu, the EFCC had to carry out what it calls aise a “Special operation” conducted by its operatives of the Economic on 3rd February, 2017 on a building in Kaduna belonging to Yakubu.
Although the agency did not say how it stormed the building, it was gathered that the huge sum of money was hidden in a fire-proof safe and kept in an unexpected building.
But when the safe was opened by the EFCC operatives, what they found shocked the team.
An EFCC operative said that the. Operation yielded a staggering sum of $9,772,800 (Nine Million, Seven Hundred and Seven Two Thousand, Eight Hundred United States Dollars) and another sum of £74,000 (Seventy Four Thousand Pound Sterling) cash.
EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the discovery.
‘The surprise raid of the facility was sequel to an intelligence which the commission received about suspected proceeds of crime believed to be hidden in the slums of Sabon Tasha area of Kaduna.
“On arrival at the facility, the caretaker of the house, one Bitrus Yakubu, a younger brother to Andrew Yakubu, disclosed that both the house and the safe where the money was found belong to his brother, Andrew Yakubu.
“When the safe was opened it was discovered that it contained the sum of $9,772,800 (Nine Million, Seven Hundred and Seventy Two Thousand, Eight Hundred United States Dollars) and another sum of £74,000 (Seventy Four Thousand Pound Sterling).
It was learnt that it was on the strength of the finding that Yakubu was invited to the EFCC on February 8, 2017 for questioning during which he admitted ownership of the cash.
Yakubu reportedly told EFCC investigators that the cash was given to him by an unnamed donors, a development that infuriated the interrogators.
A top source confirmed that Dr. Yakubu had since been detained by the EFCC to enable him to speak up on how he came about the huge cash and what it was meant for and why.
EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the former GMD was with the EFCC and currently assisting the investigation.
