EFCC Freezes Obanikoro Daughter’s Account

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has frozen the account linked to Shalewa Obanikoro, the daughter of a former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro.

EFCC investigators revealed that N1.2bn passed through her account which belongs to an oil firm.

Shalewa, who is a signatory to the account, was said to have personally mandated Fidelity Bank to transfer N800m from the account to another account within the bank...

A source in the anti-graft agency on Tuesday told Punch that, “We have frozen an account in which Obanikoro’s daughter is a signatory. She specifically mandated the bank to transfer N800m from the account to another account.

“We discovered that money was paid into the account at various times. The money came in N50m, N20m, N30m and various sums.

“She said the cash was for oil and gas transactions. So, we have frozen the account as investigations continue. We want to know where the funds came from. N1.2bn has passed through the account.”

The EFCC was said to have made the discovery of Shalewa’s transactions when it was investigating the N4.7bn allegedly paid into the account of Obanikoro’s two sons – Babajide and Gbolahan.

The cash, paid into the Diamond Bank of Sylvan McNamara, was allegedly shared by Obanikoro, the Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose; and the then governorship candidate of the PDP in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, who is now in EFCC custody.

While Omisore is in detention for allegedly receiving N1.3bn, five properties allegedly belonging to Fayose have been seized while his three Zenith Bank accounts have been frozen.

A house belonging to Obanikoro’s two sons in Ikoyi, Lagos, has also been seized.

Obanikoro and his sons are on the run, leaving their wife and girlfriends in Nigeria.