The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has announced the arrest of a level six officer in the accounts department of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Christy Olabode.
According to EFCC’s spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, Olabode was arrested on Tuesday for alleged fraud involving N100 million.
The commission also arrested her younger brother, Abdul-Shehu Obaze, who is a staff at the Commercial Department of FAAN in Ilorin, Kwara State.
Another staff, Dominic Ojo, an IT officer at FAAN Headquarters, Lagos, was also arrested.
The EFCC said Ms. Olabode’s arrest followed an anonymous petition, which alleged that she diverted the said sum, by inserting names of non-FAAN staff into the payroll. She allegedly conspired with Mr. Obaze, to perpetrate the fraud.
The EFCC said Obaze was found to have maintained about eight accounts in seven new generation banks, which were used to receive the funds for onward distribution to “several high ranking officers within the FAAN”.
“The funds were being paid into his various bank accounts with the narrative, ‘Furniture Allowance’. However, while allowance for FAAN’s furniture is usually paid once in three years, Obaze received the ‘allowance’ several times within a year.
“Investigations carried out by the EFCC revealed that the fraud had gone on since 2013. It 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 massive fraud, including Olabode’s husband who works in the Human Resources department of FAAN.
“Olabode and Ojo currently enjoy administrative bail, while Obaze remains in EFCC custody,” the statement said.
According to the statement, the suspects will be charged to court when investigations are concluded.
