Former CBN Bankers Accuses EFCC Of Collecting Bribe To Release Them From Custody

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been asked to investigate the allegation of N96million bribery against its investigator in the N8billion mutilated currency scam of 2014 against six former staffers of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The ex-bankers, including Ayodele Festus Adeyemi, Isiaka Akano, Sunday Ajiwe, Oyebanji Akeem, Ayodeji Alese, and Demola Oni, made the demand at a press conference held in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, at the weekend.

The ex-bankers who are currently standing trial before the Federal High Court in Ibadan, accused the EFCC of requesting bribes so that they could be freed.

The accused alleged that each of them paid N500,000 before they were allowed to go on Christmas holidays with their families in December 2014.

They said initially, eight were asked to pay the bribes, but two allegedly paid, adding that they were in kept in custody from 2014 till they we’re admitted on bail a year ago.

The accused persons, urged EFCC, the Nigeria Police Force, and other security agencies to investigate activities of some of the officials that they accused of collecting bribes to free accused persons.

“We want the EFCC, police, the presidency and the national assembly and other relevant agencies to investigate activities of Hammadama Bello, an EFCC investigator. He is victimising us because he discovered that we have some property and he wanted to take over the property,” said Ayodele Festus Adeyemo.

The accused alleged that each of them paid N500,000 before they were allowed to go on Christmas holidays with their families in December 2014.

According to them, their inability to pay N12million each as bribes allegedly to EFCC officals made them to be victimised, while those who had money were purportedly freed.

They insisted that they had no case to answer, as they also alleged that the people who were accused in the CBN report are still living a normal life because they had allegedly paid bribes.

They said that the EFCC investigator Bello had caused them so much hardship because they refused to give him further bribe, adding that they were innocent of the crime they were charged with.

“We don’t know anything about the money,” Adeyemi said. “The money was deposited four years before we were arrested. Bello arrested us and demanded money from us. About a week ago, we swore an affidavit at the court that the EFCC investigator is persecuting us for our failure to pay a bribe to him for the closing of the case.

“Bello had in December 2014 collected five hundred thousand naira each from six of us making N3 million. He collected the money through a lawyer, Nathaniel Oni. We gave him the money because he said that he could not release us for Christmas. And we paid the money because of the condition of the cell in Abuja. Bello also said we should pay N12 million each for him to close our case.”

“I want the EFCC to investigate his activities. I was told that the EFCC investigators have been collecting money. I could not believe it until Bello asked us to pay money for our release and our case to be closed. I want the EFCC, NBA and other relevant agencies to investigate his activities.

“We are not mentioned in the CBN report. The people that were mentioned are not being prosecuted because they had paid money to him. The only problem he has is that he will victimise anyone he found to have property. Eighty-seven of us were taken to Abuja, and only 24 of us are being prosecuted because we did not pay money.”

They further alleged that the houses that EFCC seized from them had been rented out by some officials of the commission and they have purportedly been collecting yearly rents on the property.

The ex-bankers, who spent over four years in prison, said their wives and children were sent out of their houses immediately they were sent to jail for crimes they did not commit.

KanyiDaily recalls that some months ago, the EFCC admitted that some of its officials are corrupt and called on Nigerians to expose bad eggs in the commission.