Dame Patience, wife of the immediate past Nigerian President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has obviously dipped her finger in a burning fire. In other words, she typifies the Igbo coined English which says ‘trouble de sleep and nyanga go wake am.’
In this context, since the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) opened fire on many Nigerians that were suspected to have siphoned the nation’s collective wealth into their private accounts, the name of Dame Patience had never came up even though, there were many Nigerians who believed that given the role she played; the way she played Father-Christmas to those who were worshiping her, she should have been among those focused by the anti-corruption agency.
While the EFCC officers were pursing the suspected thieves who stole Nigerian monies in billions, Dame Patience suddenly appeared from the background, as she was pursued by the god of Change, to announce that she is one of the thieves.
Either out of desperation or ignorance or both, Dame Patience filed a case in court on Thursday, claiming that the $31.4 Million (over N10 Billion), which the EFCC had frozen belonged to her.
The money is involved in an alleged fraud case before a Federal High Court in Lagos. The Counsel to the first defendant in the charge, with case number FHC/337C/16, Gboyega Oduwole, informed the court that Mrs. Patience Jonathan had filed a fundamental application against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, claiming ownership of the money.
In an application filed on September 6, this year, with file number FHC/L/C5/1233/16, Mrs. Patience Jonathan is asking the court to make an order for the enforcement of her fundamental rights, in terms of reliefs she sought, and naming as defendants, the EFCC and Skye Bank Plc.
The former first lady asked the court to make a declaration that the fund standing to the credit of four of the companies and an account in her own name in Skye Bank belonged to her.
She also asked the court to declare that the action of the respondents in placing a No Debit/Freezing Order on the said accounts without any order of a competent court of law or prior notice to her, to be in breach of her fundamental rights as contained in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The EFCC had taken former presidential aide, Amajuoyi Azubike Briggs; former Skye Bank official, Damola Bolodeoku; Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited; and Avalon Global Property Development Company Limited to court in an alleged $31.4 million fraud involving the companies without addresses.
Just as Patience, who had been quietly left to rest all this while but who decided to ruffle the hornet’s nest, was stuggling to repossess her over N10 Billion, the EFCC stumbled on another $5 Million (over N1.5 Billion) belonging to her too. It was then that things began to take far different shapes. As a matter of fact, the money that has so far traced to her account is $200 Million (over N60 Billion)!!!
EFCC officers who are working on her case discovered that it was discovered that the accounts belonged to Patience Jonathan and that she is the sole signatory to the accounts. She was said to have been given a special card which she used in making withdrawals across the world.
“We, therefore, wondered why the accounts were not opened in her name if she had nothing to hide. In fact, we later found out that her personal account, which bears her name, has a balance of $5 million. One wonders where a person, who has never held a government position, got the money from. She was not our initial target but she certainly has questions to answer.”
Commenting on the matter, the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Professor Itse Sagay (SAN), said that with the fresh admission by Patience that she owns the accounts, the EFCC has the right to probe her.
Sagay said that the Act establishing the EFCC gave the anti-graft agency the power to investigate anybody who is seen to have more wealth than he ought to have even as he too wondered how Patience, who was a civil servant and never held any government position, could have billions in her bank accounts.
“The EFCC and ICPC Act have provisions under which they can ask the court to freeze the account of a person if a person’s capacity to earn is below the amount of money that the person appears to have.
“If you are living a lavish lifestyle and it appears you don’t have the means to have acquired the property and the wealth you have, the EFCC is free to probe you.
“If she is claiming the money belongs to her, she has put herself in a position where she must explain how she earned it.”
If this is not a case of trouble de sleep and nyanga go wake am, someone should please, in the name of God, tell me what is?
Was Dame Patience under a spell of Change and had to smoke herself out, identifying herself as one of the nation’s marauders?
I just overheard a naughty hungry man across the street saying: “na so our gods go de catch them one by one.” [myad]
