EFCC officers 'raid' residence of former Lagos governor, Akinwunmi Ambode

The officers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have raided on Tuesday morning the residence of former Lagos state governor Akinwunmi Ambode in Epe area of the state, according to local media reports.

Some people reportedly came out in solidarity with the former governor to protest and resist the entry of the officers.

However, the EFCC has said that it is only investigating ex-Governor Akinwumi Ambode. It said it has not raided the residence of the ex-governor under any guise.

The EFCC made the clarifications in a statement by its spokesman, Mr. Tony Orilade.

The statement said: “The EFCC has since early hours of today, been inundated with calls that operatives of the Commission raided the residence of the former governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode. We need to state for the records that the EFCC did not raid Ambode’s house."

It further added, “It is instructive that his administration, like other former governors, is under investigation since they no longer constitutionally enjoy immunity against prosecution.  The commission hereby states with a high sense of responsibility that the operatives did not raid Ambode’s residence. Whatever the commission is presently doing with regards to the investigation is in line with its mandate and the rule of law."

The bank accounts linked to Ambode containing the sum of N9.9 billion were frozen on Aug 6. Justice Chuka Obiozor of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos gave the order, following an ex-parte application filed by the EFCC.

The EFCC had prayed the court to freeze the account pending the conclusion of the investigation and possible prosecution of Adewale Adesanya, the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Chief of Staff to former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

The EFCC stated in its affidavit that there was “a huge inflow of N9,927,714,443.29” from the state accounts into an FCMB bank account opened on September 17, 2018, during the administration of the immediate past governor of the state, Akinwunmi Ambode, and operated by Adesanya.