N100m fraud: EFCC arrests three FAAN staff

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has arrested a Grade Level-six officer of the Accounts Department of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Christy Olabode, for an alleged fraud to the tune of N100 million.

The Commission also arrested her younger brother, Abdul-Shehu Obaze, said to be a staff at the commercial department of FAAN in Ilorin, Kwara State and Dominic Ojo, an IT officer at FAAN headquarters, Lagos.

The arrests followed an anonymous petition, which indicated that she allegedly diverted the said amount, by inserting the names of non-FAAN staff into the payroll. She was alleged to have conspired with Obaze, to perpetrate the fraud.

On his part, Obaze was found by EFCC investigators to have maintained no less than eight separate bank accounts in seven new generation banks, which were allegedly used to receive the funds for onward distribution to “several high ranking officers within FAAN”.

According to Wilson Uwujiaren, head, EFCC media department, who confirmed the story, the illicit money was being paid into Obaze’s 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, Uwujiaren stated.

Investigations carried out by the EFCC, he stated, revealed that the fraud had gone on since 2013.

He added that in the course of investigations, EFCC unearthed a payroll with names of several ‘dead, retired and disengaged staff of FAAN’ listed against Obaze's different bank accounts.

Upon interrogation, the EFCC spokesman maintained, “Obaze, a grade level 9 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”.

He further disclosed that Olabode and Ojo are currently enjoying administrative bail, while Obaze remained in EFCC custody.