Ibori’s $15m bribe: EFCC arrests Chibuike Achigbu

…Says more arrests to be effected
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Friday made good its threat to arrest the claimants of the $15 million bribe money, which the former Delta State Governor, James Ibori, gave to the commission in 2007.

A Lagos-based businessman, Chibuike Achigbu, who claimed last week that he was the owner of the controversial money was arrested by the commission in Lagos and taken to Abuja on Friday for interrogation.

Achigbu, who is described as a player in the oil and gas industry, is reported to have made useful statement to EFCC operatives.

One source told Saturday Vanguard that the businessman had cooperated with the operatives of the commission interrogating him.

The source said, “We arrested the mastermind of the dubious effort to claim the bribe sum and our officers have been interrogating him since his arrival in Abuja.

“The man has cooperated with our operatives and made useful statement on the circumstance surrounding the dubious attempt to claim the money in the custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Chibuike Achigbu, and Chief Ibori

“He may be granted Administrative bail and released from our custody if he meets the conditions attached to the bail,” the source hinted.

Saturday Vanguard gathered that the operatives of the com

mission were on the trail of all those who played various roles in a desperate bid to reclaim the said money and that more arrests would soon be made.

Asked to confirm how many persons had been detained in connection with the offence, the source declined to comment further.

It was learnt that Achigbu had however made efforts to get off the hook of the EFCC and could be released at the weekend.

When contacted, the Acting Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the arrest of Achigbu, adding that he had made useful statement to the operatives.

Vanguard had exclusively reported on Tuesday that the Economic Crimes and Financial Commission had begun investigating the brains behind the spurious attempt to reclaim the $15 million bribe money.

The following day, the commission through Festus Keyamo, obtained a court order authorising it to arrest Chibuike Achigbu and Andy Uba in connection with the bribe sum.

A Federal High Court had given an interim forfeiture order of the amount to the Federal Government and gave 14 days period during which the owner of the money should come forward with evidence to claim it.

Buoyed by the court order, some senior lawyers last week approached the court and prayed it to return the money to one Chibuike Achigbu, a player in the oil and gas sector.

They claimed that they had the authority of the businessman to ask the court to return the sum to him.

In fact, the law firm of Adeniyi Akintola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, leading two other Senior Advocates of Nigeria, and seven other lawyers, initiated the move to get the money returned to Achigbu.

In a 30-paragraph affidavit in support of the prayers, David Alao, who claimed to have been instructed by both Adeniyi Akintola and Chibuike Achigbu, swore that the claimant was the owner of the money in question and asked the court to return same to him.

Alao also stated that Andy Uba, in whose residence the money was given to Ribadu, would be ready to attest to the ownership of the money by Achigbu.