The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been reported to have stormed on Saturday a farm in Nasarawa State, belonging to the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen.
The operatives, who must have acted on tip-off, were said to have made away with the farm’s documents such as sales books, receipt booklets, staff members list and other documents.
Punch reports that about nine EFCC operatives, a cameraman and policemen in a Nissan bus marked Abuja BWR 627AT raided Wanogan Farms Limied located in the Masaka area of Nasarawa State around 3pm and searched the entire premises for over three hours.
A relative of the CJN told the newspaper that the EFCC operatives seized all the phones of the workers to prevent them from taking photographs of the operation.
He said they searched the store and water tanks in search of dollars.
The relative said: “We were at the farm on Saturday afternoon when operatives of the EFCC arrived in a white Nissan bus marked Abuja BWR627AT. They forced their way into the premises, harassing everyone.
“No document was presented to the manager under the claims that the EFCC doesn’t need a search warrant. They searched his office and made away with a list of staff members from around February last year.
“The manager was then made to write and sign a document that nowhere was broken into, and nothing was taken. The supervisor was made to countersign. Both were made to do this under duress.
“The cashier was then harassed and made to turn over the sales record and all receipts and invoices in his keeping. He was also made to write an undertaking releasing the sales book to them under duress and made to write his name and designation.”
He said the EFCC men harassed the human resources director over the phone and requested that the company’s invoices be turned over to the EFCC.
The EFCC spokesman, Mr Tony Orilade, was said to have denied knowledge of the raid when contacted on phone.
“Sincerely, I am not aware,” Orilade was reported to have said.
The EFCC, it was learnt, decided to raid Onnoghen’s farm with a view to investigating claims by the embattled CJN that most of the monies that passed through his accounts were from his farm business.
The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit had sent a report to the EFCC revealing the identities of firms that paid $3m into the bank accounts of Onnoghen.
According to the document, Onnoghen received such huge sums of money despite the fact that his salary and allowances were between N240, 202 and N751, 082.37 from 2005 to 2018.
END
Be the first to comment