The Police on Wednesday in Abuja raided the home of the wife of former President Patience Jonathan, Patience.
The building is located along Igbeti Rock Street, Maitama.
It was gathered that, apart from the private security guards, no other person was within the premises when the policemen arrived.
More than 20 policemen, who came in three Hilux vans and a Toyota Hiace Bus, were said to have forced themselves into the building.
They were said to have broken into the building and went away with a brown envelope.
A source, who witnessed the incident, told one of our correspondents that the heavily armed policemen were brief in their operation.
The source said, “Men of the Nigerian Police Force raided the home of the former First Lady, Patience today (Wednesday).
“A reporter from one of the television stations, who witnessed the event, was harassed by security officers and her phone seized.
“The operation which took place at the Igbeti Rock Street started at about 5pm.
“The policemen came in four vehicles and they also took away one hefty brown envelope. They didn’t speak to us on why they came and the content of the envelope.”
It was gathered that the raid might not be unconnected with the former President’s wife’s N9bn frozen account and other allegations relating to money laundering.
Earlier on Wednesday, there was confusion over the house that was raided by security agencies as some people said it was raided by the operatives of the EFCC.
But the EFCC said that it did not raid the residence of former President Goodluck Jonathan anywhere in the country.
The commission’s spokesperson, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, stated this in an interview with one of our correspondents.
Reacting, Mrs. Jonathan said the house that was searched by the police was her family house, adding that nothing incriminating was found after the search.
The former President’s wife, who spoke through her lawyer, Mr. Charles Ogboli, explained that three cheque books were taken away from the premises.
She noted that contrary to a report in an online medium, it was the police that searched her house and not the EFCC.
Mrs. Jonathan stated that the leader of the team he met on the ground explained that though they did not set out to search the family house of the former first lady, the security man’s attitude forced them to do so.
She described as embarrassing a situation where a security outfit would search a building in the absence of the occupant.
“EFCC came last year and conducted a search in the absence of the occupant of the house. The NDLEA also searched the same building. This also happened last year between November or thereabouts. It is an embarrassment.
“I don’t know what they are actually looking for. Why are they searching a premises in the absence of the occupant? It appears there is something they want to do there,” Mrs. Jonathan added.
According to her, “Today, it was not EFCC, but in the past, from November 2016, EFCC raided the place. It is a family house meant for the brothers and sisters; the siblings. It is a family house of the former First Lady in Maitama, Abuja.
“EFCC raided the place last year. Thereafter, NDLEA raided the place and throughout their raid, they found nothing incriminating. Today, I got information that there were several policemen numbering about 20 to 28 of them.
“So, when I got there, I demanded to see the leader of the team and I was directed to an Assistant Commissioner of Police, who was in mufti and known as Williams. I asked him which of the command are you from and he said they were from IG’s Special Unit. Somebody also in mufti intervened and said they are from the AGF, Attorney General’s office
“He told me that they came to search the house of a judge, but because of the attitude of the security man, they decided to now move into the house (Patience Jonathan’s family building) and search the house.
“They forced the door open and searched everything. At the end, they asked the security man to sign that nothing incriminating was found. They took away three cheque books and a company iron seal. The company seal does not belong to the former first lady because she is not staying there. The company is not known to the first lady.” – Punch.
