The Economic and Financial Crimes commission (EFCC) admitted it has arrested and detained Jarrett Tenebe, a gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). SaharaReporters learned from sources at the commission that $50million has been found in an account belonging to him.
The saga of PDP’s hopeful in Edo state continued on September 12, 2014, Friday, as new information has been leaked by some of the investigators. According to them, $50 million (N8,143,459,000) found in Mr. Tenebe’s account were a leftover of deposits from the illegal sale of crude oil abroad through Saltpond Oil platform.
In an attempt to clear the air on the initial report the commission issued a press statement. It challenged the story on the grounds that the information did not emanate from its spokesman.
“For the benefit of members of the public who may have been misled by the attributions, all information emanating from the EFCC to the media are authenticated by the designated official spokesperson, which is not the case with this report.”
The EFCC failed to explain why Mr. Tenebe was arrested and put under investigation for close to one week without making the information public or charging the suspect to court.
Even then, the EFCC kept the arrest under wraps until story appeared.
“The agency (EFCC) refused to make his arrest public as pressure mounted by Tenebe’s accomplices within the Nigerian government and the PDP party hierarchy,” an anti-corruption activist familiar with Tenebe’s arrest said.
It would be recalled that information on Tenebe’s arrest by the EFCC emerged on Thursday. Investigators also reported about the involvement of several senior government officials and top politicians, including Mike Oghiadomhe, a former Chief of Staff to President Goodluck Jonathan, Tony Anenih, the Chairman of the board of trustees of the PDP and the Minister of Petroleum resources, Diezani Alison Madueke.
