The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, on Tuesday, searched the apartments of the immediate past Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi; and a former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, as part of investigations into the $43.4m, £27,000 and N23m (N13bn) found at a flat in Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, last week.
Other persons of prominence living in the building, include a former Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (Retail), Mrs. Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue; and media mogul and founder of Ebony Life Television, Mo Abudu.
According to the PUNCH, sources within the EFCC indicated that all the flats were searched including the unoccupied ones.
The commission had uncovered the N13bn in flat 7B of the building on Wednesday last week.
Detectives were, however, of the opinion that there might be more money concealed in other flats including three unoccupied apartments.
The media aide to ex-Governor Obi, Mr. Valentine Obienyem, confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that all the apartments in the building were searched by the commission.
He, however, maintained that the apartment was a rented one as Obi’s home is in Onitsha, Anambra State.
Obienyem warned mischief makers against seeking fault in Obi, adding that all tenants in the building were also searched.
He said although the former governor was not at home when the EFCC carried out the search, he had sent the key to the flat to the EFCC and nothing incriminating was found in the apartment.
The statement read in part, “The media aide to former Governor Mr. Peter Obi has confirmed the search by the EFCC of Flat 1, occupied by the former governor in the building where the agency discovered large sums of money.
“The apartment was rented by the wife of the former governor and it is where Mr. Obi usually stays anytime he is in Lagos.
“Even though Mr. and Mrs. Obi had traveled to the USA and the UK for speaking engagements when we relayed the message of the search to him, he quickly sent the keys to the four-bedroom apartment to the EFCC via courier.
“He even left instructions that we should allow them to also search his Onitsha residents should there be a need for that. After the thorough search, nothing was found in the apartment.”
