EFCC to arraign Olu Falae before a court Read more

The Punch reports that the EFCC would formally charge the former minister of finance with conspiracy to indirectly retain the sum of N100m “which he ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act to wit: stealing, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 18(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012, and punishable under Section 15(3) and 4 of the same Act.” Falae had admitted in February that he received the money on behalf of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) but was unaware the money came fro Dasuki.

An EFCC source revealed that the 78-year-old politician has been visiting the office of the anti-graft agency but has refused to return the money. “Chief Falae has been reporting to our office every week to answer questions on the N100m he received from the Jonathan campaign organisation. We have told him to refund the money. “But he said he received the money through Anenih and it was meant for campaign. However, investigations revealed that he deposited N60m into SDP’s account while he kept N40m. “We told him that he should return the N40m, but he has not been forthcoming. We have no other option but to charge him to court.”

However, Mr. Alfa Mohammed who is the spokesperson of Falae said any attempt to prosecute him would be tantamount to witch-hunt. He claimed the former presidential candidate was usually grilled for eight hours at the EFCC office in Lagos without food or water and the stress of shuttling between Lagos and Ondo was taking its toll on him. He insisted that Falae did not use the fund for personal purpose but for campaign for the re-election of Jonathan. “The PDP wanted us to render a service and they gave us money, which we did by adopting and working for Jonathan. So, what is our business with arms deal?
“We never had contact with Dasuki. If you are given money to cook food for guests at a ceremony and after everyone has eaten, you are informed that the money given to you was stolen from CBN, would you tell all the guests to pay you? “This is nothing but harassment.

They want to distract us from the coming Ondo election which we are set to win. The SDP still owes Chief Falae N70m because we asked him to borrow N170m in anticipation that the PDP would pay, but the party gave us only N100m. “The N100m came about three days to the election and chief had been spending money before then. He has fallen ill because of the intense interrogation in the EFCC office.

The operatives usually grill him for eight hours without food or water. If they are probing party funds, let them start from the APC.” Fale has insisted that he has no dealing with Dasuki and said he gave the PDP six conditions before accepting the party’s proposal and the N100 million and was unaware it came from money meant for procurement of arms. “I never had any dealings whatsoever with the former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki. 

No relationship at all! “What I know was that Chief Tony Anenih, chairman Board of Trustee of the PDP approached me before the last election (presidential election of Saturday, March 28, 2015) to seek the cooperation of my party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) with his own party in re-electing the former president (Dr Goodluck Jonathan) in what they could call an Inter-Party Cooperation Agreement. And I gave him 6 conditions before we could accede to that request.”