The National Intelligence Agency of Nigeria (NIA) has vehemently denied a report that its officials were laying claims to the cash hoard of $50 millio
The National Intelligence Agency of Nigeria (NIA) has vehemently denied a report that its officials were laying claims to the cash hoard of $50 million recently seized from an apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
An online publication (The Will) had reported that officials of the NIA were insisting that the seized cash was part of the agency’s covert operations. The publication had also claimed that NIA officials were furious that the EFCC acting chairman, Ibrahim Magu, had undermined their covert tasks by sending agents of the anti-corruption agency to impound the cash. Seizure of the huge haul of cash, which included millions of US dollars, British pound sterling and the Nigerian currency, the naira, has dominated news coverage in Nigeria for two days.
A top NIA official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the agency was in no way tied to the scandalous amount discovered in an apartment that was built by a former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Adamu Muazu, who said he has since sold the apartment building. According to the source, the NIA never claimed ownership of the funds, contrary to the assertion made by the online publication.
When asked, the Director-General of the NIA, Ayodele Oke, said he had not seen such a report and couldn’t comment on it. Pressed further, he said he had not met President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss owning the cash as was being reported. The EFCC has yet to unveil the owner of the stash of cash unearthed in safes that were concealed behind a false wall at an apartment in Ikoyi.
Sahara Reporters
