The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested four domestic servants, including a driver and a houseboy, whose signatures were forged and their names used to open bank accounts for Mrs Dame Patience Jonathan, the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
According to the EFCC, the arrested servants had accounts opened for them at Skye Bank of which Mrs. Jonathan was the sole signatory, PUCNCH reports.
In an affidavit deposited on behalf of the ex-President’s wife, she admitted to giving millions of dollars to the then Special Adviser to the President on Domestic Affairs, Waripamowei Dudafa, to open accounts for her.
Dudafa then opened five accounts for Dame Patience with only one in her name, while the other four were opened in the names of companies belonging to Dudafa.
An EFCC detective disclosed that Dudafa used his domestic servants’ names to open the four other accounts.
“We were investigating Dudafa when we stumbled on those four companies’ domiciliary accounts opened at Skye Bank with a balance of about $15m. On further investigation, we were able to identify the directors of the companies,” he said.
“When we detained the directors, we found out that they were Dudafa’s domestic servants. One of them was a houseboy while another one was a driver. Their photographs were used in opening the accounts and their signatures were forged.
“We found out that these domestic servants were completely innocent because they had no access to the accounts. We have since released them. The sole signatory to the accounts was Patience Jonathan and she was issued with a special card, which is accepted worldwide. She has a separate account, which was opened in her name and has a balance of $5m.”
The detective added that lawyer, Amajuoyi Briggs, who allegedly helped Dudafa to perpetrate the fraud, would also be arraigned while two Skye Bank executives were also being investigated.
Meanwhile Mrs. Jonathan has filed a fundamental rights suit against Skye Bank for freezing her bank accounts and giving the EFCC vital information about her finances.
She’s demanding the sum of N200m for what she termed a violation of her right to own personal property under Section 44 of the 1999 Constitution.
