The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has confirmed that it has begun investigating alleged diversion of over N551 billion by a former Abia State governor, Theodore Orji, and his son.
The commission, in a statement on Saturday, said it began the investigation following a petition by a group, Fight Corruption: Save Nigeria Group.
The group accused Mr Orji of diverting N383 billion revenue from federal accounts, N55 billion excess crude revenue, N2.3 billion Sure P funds and N1.8 billion ecological funds.
Other funds allegedly diverted are N10.5 billion loan from First Bank Plc through the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Local Government Affairs, N4 billion loan from Diamond Bank, N12 billion Paris Club refund, N2 billion agricultural loan for farmers and N55 billion ASOPADEC funds.
The group said in the petition that Orji’s administration during his time as governor received the funds without commensurate projects on ground to show for it.
It also alleged that Orji, who was Chief of Staff to his predecessor, Orji Kalu, was the authorising officer drawing N500 million monthly purported to be security vote, which were allegedly diverted.
Mr Kalu was in December jailed for 12 years for laundering N7.2 billion.
The petition alleged that when Orji became governor in 2007, he continued to withdraw N500 million cash monthly from June 2007 to May 2015.
The said amount, the petition noted, “is not part of the security funds expended on the Nigerian Police, The Nigerian Army, DSS, Navy anti-Kidnapping Squad, anti-robbery Squad, purchase of security equipment and vehicles for the security agencies.”
The EFCC extended the investigation to his family members to ascertain the link and culpability of the ex-governor’s first son, Chinendum Orji, who is currently the Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly.
The anti-graft agency said it discovered about 100 accounts in different banks, with over 80 percent of the accounts still very active.
The accounts linked to Mr Chinendum, both corporate and individual, received large deposits in cash without evidence of job or services rendered.
One of such, the EFCC said, is Fotoworld Industry Limited, with GTB account number 2022025805.
“The company received deposit of $20, 849, 044.21. The same company with another account number 2022025764 in First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) received a cumulative deposit of N362, 573, 056.50.
“Fotoworld has several other accounts with FBN. The accounts and deposits are: 2026144229, $84, 000 cash deposit between 2014 and 2015; between 2012 and 2015, account number 2022025764 housed N342, 573, 056.50; Account number 2022025939 between November 2012 and July 2015 received a deposit of 1, 689, 320.89 Pounds Sterling,” it said.
Another company, Exact Construction Limited, linked to Chinedum, is believed to have no record of any construction work in the country.
The company, however, received large deposits in its accounts with Keystone Bank.
Between October 2008 and February 2015, the company account number 005374800 had deposits of N1, 188, 924, 190.41. It also got deposit of N636, 372, 642.85 into another Keystone Bank account number 1001538949.
The GTB account 0039060117 of the same company housed N88, 300, 000 between February 2009 and July 2014. The FBN account number 2008232908 also received lodgement of N599, 771, 424.25 between January 2011 and June 2016; account number 200823298 had N731, 135, 357.04 between 2007 and 2016.
The commission said the Orji family also opened bank accounts for another registered company, Fotofast Industry Limited, where funds unaccounted for were deposited into.
“The sum of N20, 861, 165.95 entered into the FBN account number 2014629152 between 2011 and 2017. Between 2011 and 2016, another N223, 929, 515.37 was lodged in Fotofast’s account number 2015559102 domiciled in FBN,” EFCC revealed.
