EFCC To Seize Akpabio's Properties Over N108bn Fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is intensifying investigation on ex-Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, SUNDAY PUNCH has learnt.

The EFCC is examining claims that the previous senator stole N108bn amid his residency somewhere around 2007 and 2015.

As of now, the counter unite organization had kept in touch with five banks requesting data on Akwa Ibom State accounts under Akpabio's organization.

Correspondingly, the EFCC is making moves to welcome key individuals from the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly and serving officials, huge numbers of whom served amid the ex-representative's organization.

A source at the EFCC said, "We have kept in touch with Zenith Bank, Keystone Bank, FCMB, Skye Bank, and UBA requesting data on the state's records. We are likewise welcoming the bookkeeper general, the examiner general, the Speaker and the representative of the House of Assembly. We have followed a few houses to the previous representative in Lagos and Abuja and it is simply an issue of time before we seize them."

Akpabio was initially tested by the commission's investigators a year ago after arrangement of petitions composed against him.

The previous senator, now the Senate Minority Leader, was blamed for stealing open assets while he was legislative head of the oil-rich state.

In March 2013, he was blamed for giving N1m each to six executives of the Peoples Democratic Party from the South-South geopolitical zone that had united on Port Harcourt for a gathering compromise session, instructing them to utilize the cash to "purchase Mr Biggs."

Couple of weeks prior, the Akwa Ibom State government had gone to a state High Court to get a between time request banishing the EFCC from examining Akpabio's organization.

The Justice Ntong-drove court on July 15 conceded a break directive, limiting the EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission, and the Inspector General of Police from researching the accounts of the Akwa Ibom State government.

The suit was recorded for the benefit of the state government by the state Attorney-General, Uwemedimo Nwoko, who likewise served under Akpabio and is accepted to be faithful to the previous representative.

In any case, taking after a movement on notification recorded by the EFCC, the court on Friday, abandoned the request of between time directive controlling the EFCC from examining the records of state.

The judge then suspended the matter till October 19 for becoming aware of the preparatory complaint of the EFCC nearby different applications.

In a June 22, 2015 appeal to EFCC, an Abuja-based legal counselor and dissident, Leo Ekpenyong had blamed Akpabio for sheer waste in office.

Among a few different assertions, the applicant charged that amongst January and December 2014, the trio of Godswill Akpabio, a previous assistant to the senator and another partner made illicit however generous withdrawals of money from an assigned state government-claimed account with Zenith Bank with record number 101037588, adding up to N22.1bn.

At the point when reached on the phone on Saturday, Akpabio's representative, Mr. Aniete Ekong, said he was in an open place and guaranteed to get back to. Be that as it may, he had yet to do as such as of the season of recording this report.