The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has traced N2.114bn to the
bank account of Magel Resort Limited, which was allegedly owned by Mrs.
Patience Jonathan and her late mother, Mama Charity Oba.
According to the EFCC, the total amount of money traced to Mrs. Jonathan is now N17bn.
Patience,
the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, had, last week, filed a
N2bn fundamental human rights suit against the EFCC, accusing the
anti-graft agency of subjecting her to psychological trauma, unnecessary
persecution and going as far as freezing her late mother’s accounts.
However,
an interim report of the EFCC, made available to The PUNCH, accused
Mrs. Jonathan of perpetrating fraud through some of her non-governmental
organisations.
The report adds that at least N17bn,
including funds from some government agencies, were paid into the
accounts of Mrs. Jonathan’s NGOs.
The report states, “Another
company owned by Mrs Jonathan is Magel Resort Ltd. It was incorporated
by Mrs. Jonathan’s late mother. But Patience Jonathan became the sole
signatory to the account of the company by board resolution upon the
demise of her mother.
“Though registered as a resort agency,
sources at the EFCC disclosed that the agency was probing the
circumstances in which the firm secured over N200m IT contract from the
National Information Technology Development Agency.
“The
contract was allegedly bankrolled through the National Information
Technology Development Fund. Several other persons under investigation
for money laundering by the anti-graft agency were discovered to have
made payments into the company’s account including a hotelier in Central
Area, Abuja, who has been invited for questioning.