A probe to establish a link between the $44.9 million wire deal traced to Air Peace chairman Allen Onyema in the United States and the Presidential Amnesty Office has reportedly began.
It was learnt that after the U.S. Government released indictment charges against Mr. Onyema and the airline’s Chief Finance Officer Ejiroghene Eghagha, a former top officer of the Amnesty Programme sneaked out of the United States to evade arrest.
Four firms/Non-Governmental Organisations involved in the wire deal scandal reportedly have links with the Amnesty Programme Office and the Niger Delta Development Commission according to preliminary findings, and investigators have also found the wire deals to have the imprints of some former political office holders.
A top EFCC source said: “Detectives have been able to establish that some of the firms/groups/NGOs were engaged in humongous contracts by NDDC and the Amnesty Programme Office for the training of some ex-militants abroad. Such contracts were spread for over 10 years covering some foreign jurisdictions and some administrations in Amnesty Programme Office and NDDC. We are probing links between the amnesty cash and the $44.9 million in the indictment charges. Our team will interact with relevant desks and analyse the financial records of the affected agencies. Some few persons have claimed that more than of the contracts for the training of ex-militants were awarded to groups/ firms allegedly owned by Onyema. Our comprehensive investigation will determine the veracity or otherwise of this. Depending on our findings, we are likely to invite some past coordinators and top officers of the Amnesty Programme Office and NDDC. We are strongly suspecting that some amnesty funds might have been laundered. But when we go into the books, we will be able to establish the truth or otherwise.
There is a nexus between the timelines in the indictment charges and the years some contracts were awarded to Onyema. Our job is not to prejudge, we will do a thorough assignment.
Detectives are retrieving all banking records of the firms/ groups and NGOs. We will be fair and firm. And we will release details of our findings soon. We will invite all the key actors, including Onyema, and officers of relevant banks.”