Former First Lady Patience Jonathan yesterday indicted Mr. Wampemo-Owei Dudafa, the Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to former President Goodluck Jonathan, and Skye Bank officials for registering phony companies for four of the five accounts..
She denied opening the accounts in the names of cooks, drivers and artisans.
In a statement by her aide, Yemi Akinbode, Mrs Jonathan faulted authenticity of the representatives of the four companies who pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering.
The statement said: “Sometime in 2013, following the advice of top officials of the EFCC then in the company of Hon. Wampemo-Owei Dudafa who was the Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to the former President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, that she should not travel oversees with cash, otherwise she may contravene Money Laundering laws, Mrs Patience Jonathan agreed to open accounts with Skye Bank Plc and directed Hon. Dudafa to see to it.
“Hon Dudafa came with two bank managers (officials) of Skye Bank Plc with the account opening forms which she duly signed.
“These accounts were all dollar based Platinum Visa cards in respect of five accounts.
“When the bank officials brought the ATM cards for the said accounts of which she is sole signatory, she discovered to her surprise that only one of these accounts bore her personal name while four were in the names of companies not known to her.
“She immediately complained about this anomaly to Hon. Dudafa and the bank officials, Demola Doledeoku and Dipo Oshodi, came back to the Villa with forms to change and convert the said accounts to the personal name of Mrs Jonathan.
“This was her firm request which the bank officials promised to effect immediately and she duly completed account conversion forms and signed the mandate forms as a the sole signatory, but as it would appear, the said bank officials did not change the Account names despite her request.
“It was in 2014 or thereabout that she was given the ATM cards for all the five accounts, with the bank officials promising to exchange the cards for the four reflecting her correct names. This again, the bank officials failed to do despite her repeated request.”The statement added: “Finally, the EFCC resorted to taking fast and surreptitious steps to get the Federal High Court where the criminal case Charge no: FHC/337C/16 is pending to get a final order to confiscate the funds in the said accounts without any notification to Mrs. Patience Jonathan.
“The attempt has failed three times that the case came up with the EFCC clearly unable to prove its case or open same.
”It was in the above circumstances and left with no other option, and to protect her legal rights under the Constitution that Mrs. Patience Jonathan was constrained to file a suit in the Federal High Court.
“In the light of the foregoing, it is important to emphasise that EFCC needs to desist from media trial of innocent citizens before trial.
“We commend EFCC to adhere to this immutable advice by Hon. Leo Ogor, the distinguished Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
“ We are fortified in this view by the recent statement of the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, that in the pursuit of the anti-corruption war, the rule of law must be followed and respect for human rights to be adhered to, for it is a truism that no man should be condemned unheard.
”We are making this statement to put the facts of this matter in proper perspective and Her Excellency Mrs. Patience Ibifaka Jonathan will not make any further statements on this issue as a law abiding citizen since the issues have been turned over to the courts for adjudication, and the matter is subjudice.”
“It was the failure of the EFCC to obtain the forfeiture order on the last date at the Federal High Court sitting which was on the 8th august, 2016 that the heavens were let loose, leading to EFCC orchestrating the aforementioned false and malicious publications against the person of Mrs. Patience Jonathan, unleashing so much vendetta; vindictiveness and carefully planned rehearsed act of witch-hunt against her.”
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