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Acting on a tip-off, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday found $43.4 million (about N13.237 billion), N23 million and £27,000 cash at House 16, Osborne Road in Ikoyi, Lagos Island.
The anti-graft agency suspected that the cash might have been proceeds of crime kept at the residence to prevent any bank alert.
The identity of the owner of the cash was kept under wraps pending the conclusion of investigations.
But early this morning, SaharaReporters reported that the money belonged to the sacked Managing Director, Operations at the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue.
Nnamdi-Ogbue, was sacked alongside other three top Managing Directors at the NNPC over the ‘missing’ petrol scandal involving Capital Oil & Gas Nigeria Limited owned by businessman, Ifeanyi Ubah.
SaharaReporters reports that the cook who served Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue, absconded with cash and pieces of jewelry worth $6million in 2016.
The cook, Mr. Gabel Segbedji, a national of Benin Republic, took off with the loot in a Toyota Camry car, which also belonged to her boss.
The online news medium had earlier reported that the facility was owned by a former PDP Chairman, Adamu Mu’azu.
But in a reaction to SaharaReporters, Mu’azu denied being the owner of the house even though the report said the construction firm that built the house listed his name as a client.
The operation leading to the discovery was followed by a whistle blower’s confidential alert received by the anti-graft agency in the early hours of Wednesday.
A source said the movers of the bags made believe that they were bringing in bags of clothes. Another source who is conversant with the apartment of interest indicated that a woman usually appears on a different occasion with Ghana-Must-Go bags.
“She comes looking haggard, with dirty clothes but her skin didn’t quite match her outward appearance, perhaps a disguise,” the source said.
On getting to the building, operatives met the entrance door locked. Guards at the gate explained that nobody resides in the apartment, but some persons come in and out once in a while.
In compliance with the magisterial order contained in the warrant, the EFCC used minimum force to gain entrance into the apartment, the agency said.
Monies were found in two of the four-bedroom apartment. A further search of the wardrobe by operatives in one of the rooms was found to be warehousing three fireproof cabinets disguisedly hidden behind wooden panels of the wardrobe. Upon assessing the content of the cabinets, neatly arranged were US dollars, British pound sterling, and some naira notes in sealed wrappers.