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Businessman Lays Claim to Ibori’s $15 million EFCC Bribe, Fingers Andy Uba

By on August 30, 2012

Andy Uba

A businessman with interests in Oil and Gas, Chibuike Achigbu has laid claim to the $15 million ‘Ibori EFCC bribe’ that is in the process of being forfeited to the Federal Government.

An Abuja High Court presided over by Justice Gabriel Kolawole had ruled that the funds which had been lying idle in a CBN vault since 2007 would be forfeited to the Federal Government if nobody came forward to claim the funds.

Since the order was given by the justice, the only other claimant to the funds is the Delta State Government. However now the Ibo businessman, Mr. Achigbu has stated that the funds were given to Andy Uba to be passed on to the EFCC, and that the final recipient of the funds was supposed to be the PDP. He stated that the funds were meant for the 2007 elections.

Achigbu’s solicitors Synergy Attorneys narrated the timeline of how Chibuike Achigbu mobilized and lost the funds.

The narrative is as follows: “Achigbu determined a base global figure as a target he needed to make to pool necessary funds together before making donations to identified recipients of the PDP throughout the federation. The figure arrived at came to approximately N3bn only.

“The project was thereafter exposed to Achigbu’s business friends and associates within Nigeria who might be favorably disposed to support it.

“Achigbu approached Andy Uba, to invite the EFCC to investigate and certify that the funds were accumulated honestly and in good g faith” before it could be donated to the PDP.

“Achigbu was advised to deliver the fund for onward transmission to the EFCC, being the agency of the Federal Government sufficiently equipped to give a clean bill of legitimacy to the fund before it could be donated to the cause intended.”

Andy Uba was approached to deliver the funds to the EFCC, and the money was seized. Achigbu said he then lost contact with Uba for several years until August 27th.

“Achigbu and Uba spoke for the first time in a long while on August 27, 2012, when Uba called to inform him of the re-appearance of the missing money in the form of the alleged $15m being claimed by the Federal Government.

“Uba reportedly told Achigbu that the $15m forfeited to the Federal Government by the Abuja FHC was indeed the same money he handed over to the EFCC, through Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde.”

Speaking on the development, counsel to the EFCC, Chief Rotimi Jacob said, “Somebody filed a paper saying that he is the owner of the money. He said he gave money for political party sponsors and that the money was given to Mr. Andy Uba, but that he forwarded it to the EFCC so that they can investigate the money. Everybody will hear it later.”