EFCC arrests 3 FAAN officials over N100m ‘fraud’

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested Christy Olabode, a level six accounts officer at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) for an alleged fraud of N100 million.

Wilson Uwujaren, spokesman of the commission, disclosed this in a statement, saying the arrest was made on Tuesday.

The statement said also arrested were her younger brother, Abdul-Shehu Obaze, of the commercial department of FAAN in Ilorin and Dominic Ojo, an IT officer at the headquarters in Lagos.

It said the arrest followed an anonymous petition, which indicated that she allegedly diverted the said sum by inserting names of non-FAAN staff into its payroll.

The statement said she allegedly conspired with Obaze, who was found to have maintained not less than eight accounts in seven new generation banks to perpetrate the fraud.

The statement added that the banks were used to receive the funds for onward distribution to some high ranking officers in FAAN.

“The funds were being paid into his various bank accounts with the narrative, furniture allowance,” the statement read.

“However, while the allowance for FAAN’s furniture is usually paid once in three years, Obaze received the allowance several times in a year.”

It added that investigations by the EFCC revealed that the fraud had gone on since 2013.

The statement said the investigations unearthed a payroll with names of many dead, retired and disengaged staff of FAAN listed against Obaze’s different bank accounts.

“Upon interrogation, Obaze, a level nine officer, confessed that other FAAN officials were involved in the fraud, including Olabode’s husband, who works in the human resources department of FAAN,” it said.

“Olabode and Ojo currently enjoy administrative bail while Obaze remains in EFCC custody.”

It added that they would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded.