A video has surfaced online of anti graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, attempting to evict Nora Olumide Johnson, a
A video has surfaced online of anti graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, attempting to evict Nora Olumide Johnson, a former mistress and personal secretary of over 30 years to billionaire businessman, Mike Adenuga, from her home.
In the video, Johnson could be seen weeping uncontrollably as she pleads with the billionaire to leave her alone.
“Mike Adenuga, leave me alone. What have I done? He said I stole money, the money I didn’t steal because I want to break up. 30 years I gave my life to Adenuga yet he wants to drive me away from this house. This house that I built. How many houses did I have? What did he do for me? He didn’t do anything for me. No husband, no children. I am finished,” She said weeping
In a petition to the EFCC earlier this year, Adenuga, had through its counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), accused Johnson and others of conspiracy, forgery, stealing and obtaining money under false pretence.
Adenuga in the petition said he had through Worldspan Holdings Limited, one of his numerous companies, instructed its bankers, BNP Paribas, Paris on December 7, 2013 to close two of its accounts and its balance of $300,000 transferred to the current account of Conoil Producing Limited. But contrary to the instruction, Johnson the first defendant and another, the 5th defendant allegedly issued a later instruction to the bank that the said balance be wired to DSL Nominees Limited account in China for their personal benefits.
Adenuga according to an online newspaper, Nigerian Lawyer, also alleged that sometime between 2018 and 2020, the first defendant, together with others, stole various currencies in naira and foreign currencies in the total equivalent of $350,000.
On account of that and others, the EFCC sought and obtained an exparte order, attaching various properties of the 1st defendant, including her residential building, all, but one of which she had bought between April, 2001 and February 2010 and froze her bank accounts on February 16, 2021.
In her defense, Johnson filed a motion dated March 12, praying the court to discharge the interim attachment order while also denying all the allegations contained in the petition and averred that at no time in 2013 was she instructed by Adenuga or Worldspan to transfer the alleged $300,000/close any accounts nor did she participate in any transfer of the said sum to DSL nominees, China.
Johnson maintained that she was never queried for any alleged diversion of $300,000 from 2013 till she left her employment in 2019 and further stated that she was never involved in alleged stealing of a phantom $350,000 from a safe between 2018 and 2020.
She claimed on oath that Adenuga designed the phantom allegations to intimidate and oppress her because she was bold enough to walk away from a 30-year love relationship with him, for her peace of mind. She further swore to a 13 paragraph further affidavit that she instructed her counsel to file an application for stay of execution as well as for discharging the orders of the court, which was done and served to the prosecution.
“However, on March 17, 2021, I was suddenly asked by an EFCC officer via telephone call to come to the Commission’s office immediately. I informed the officer who called me that I had a pre-scheduled medical appointment for March 17, 2021 and that I would come to their office on the scheduled date, being March 18, 2021.
“The EFCC officer then told me that he and his fellow officers were coming to my house to pick me up and take possession of my house as there is a court order to that effect. The EFCC officers kept true to their threat as 30 minutes later they got to my house with Police officers, tried to eject me from my house, that they were taking possession of the house, despite the service of the application of the motion for stay on the EFFC.”
Similarly, in her March 1, 2021 petition to the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, Tony Ojukwu, she denied Adenuga’s allegations, claiming that she was being harangued for refusing to continue to be the mistress (lover) of Dr. Adenuga.
In the petition, her lawyers, M.J. Partnership; Solicitors, said: “Our client worked for over a period of 30 years approximately, as confidential secretary to Dr. Adenuga starting from her appointment at Devcom Merchant Bank Limited in 1990. However, irrespective of which of Dr. Adenuga’s companies our client’s salaries were paid from, our client at all times worked personally in the office of Dr. Adenuga all through the period she worked in his organization receiving various cash gifts in foreign and local currencies from Dr. Adenuga
“She handled many sensitive matters for Dr. Adenuga and at no point during her work as confidential secretary was she accused of any financial crime or misdemeanor whatsoever. She rather performed her role as confidential secretary to the best of her abilities,” the lawyers stated and urged the Commission to protect the rights of the accused from the frivolous criminal allegations.
