Operatives of the Nigeria Police were said to have raided the house of
Dame Patience Jonathan, the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, in
Abuja on Wednesday,
with the aim of uncovering huge foreign currencies
allegedly kept in the building.
Multiple sources familiar with the investigation confided in Punch that
the security personnel raided the house on a tip-off that huge amount,
allegedly believed to be stolen government money, was kept in the building
located at Igbeti Rock, Maitama, Abuja.
The operation, which was carried out by operatives of the Special
Investigation Panel, headed by a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police,
Ali Amodu, acted at the behest of the Government Asset Recovery and Forfeiture
Committee.
Sources explained that an informant had tipped the Federal Government
about alleged huge stolen cash hidden in the building and in three other
different locations in the Federal Capital Territory.
It was learnt that the informant, who told the government about the cash
in the Maitama property, had hinted that the suspect planned to move the money
anytime.
Following the intelligence report, the SIP operatives stormed the duplex
on Wednesday, but did not find any cash.
A source explained that the police did not know that the building
belonged to Jonathan until she identified herself as a former First Lady to the
team leader, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Adebo Williams, on the
telephone.
The source stated, “At the house, the security men said the house
belonged to one Jaga, a Rivers State indigene, and the team leader was directed
to call the owner.
“The security man gave the phone to the team leader and she identified
herself as former First Lady.
“She spoke in pidgin English and told the operatives to go and take
whatever they kept in the house. The team leader advised her to send her lawyer
and she did. The house was searched in the lawyer’s presence.”
It was gathered that the team discovered the first of the twin duplex had
not been inhabited for a long time.
The men, it was learnt, found some company documents, three Diamond bank
accounts cheque leaves, which were taken away for further investigations.
A source said, “The second duplex was also filled with cobwebs and
contained four big security safes. All the four security safes were met opened
and in clean condition, indicating that they have been in use [probably the
cash have been moved already].
A senior officer said a bulletproof Porsche jeep and a BMW car were found
locked up in the garage.
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