When 30-year-old Ibrahim Alfa first heard that over N3bn was discovered by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in a house somewhere in Kaduna State, he rolled his eyes in disbelief. When he was later told the said sum was found in a house located inside his poor community in Sabo Tasha, Alfa, who holds a Higher National Diploma in Electric Engineering, screamed expletives.
“I am short of words. How can one believe that such amount of money was found here, in a place where there is no regular electricity supply, water supply? To think that a man of such immense wealth has something to do with this community without contributing anything is, to say the least, disheartening,” Alfa said. Chikun Street has since become popular following the discovery by operatives of the EFCC, on February 9.
Following a tip-off by an informant, operatives of the agency stormed a house in Sabon Tasha, allegedly belonging to the former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr. Andrew Yakubu. The anti-graft agency said it found the sum of $9.7m (N2.96bn) and £74,000 (N28.19m), a total of over N3bn hidden in a fireproof safe inside the house.
Yakubu was NNPC GMD between 2012 and 2014 before he was relieved by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan for alleged corruption and insubordination. He had worked with the NNPC for over 30 years. Chikun LGA has an estimated population of over 360,000, with Sabo Tasha and Angwan Sunday having about half of the estimated population.
Alfa said, “As you can see, I am going to the next compound to fetch water from a borehole. This is as a result of the government’s inability to provide for us. Yet we have somebody who hid money in foreign currencies in our area. This country is sick.
Look at the poor drainage system, bad road network and lack of hospital facilities. Many of the residents are not happy with the man (Yakubu) for what he did. People in this community are angry. They wished the money was shared among them. He could not even touch anybody’s life in this community.”
An unexpected find in squalor
Last Friday, a statement from the EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, noted that “the surprise raid of the facility followed intelligence which the commission received about suspected proceeds of crime believed to be hidden in the slums of Sabo Tasha area of Kaduna.”
Uwujaren said the caretaker of the house, one Bitrus Yakubu, a younger brother to Andrew Yakubu, disclosed that both the house and the safe where the money was found belonged to his brother, Yakubu.
The EFCC spokesman further said on February 8, Yakubu had reported to the commission’s zonal office in Kano and made a statement wherein he allegedly admitted ownership of the recovered money, claiming it was a gift from unnamed persons. The discovery by the EFCC has sparked outrage among Nigerians, especially Yakubu’s poor neighbors.
A resident of the area, 30-year-old Celestine Musa, said members of the community were woken up by the unusual presence of operatives of stern-looking EFCC operatives.
Musa said he was shocked that such huge sums could reside in such a poor community where many like him were struggling to eke out a living.
The house where the money was recovered was a stark difference to the amount it carried for months. But for the EFCC revelation, nothing pointed to the fact that N3bn was stashed somewhere in the unimpressive house with drab painting.
Directly opposite the building were shops, where a grinding machine for tomatoes, pepper, and other stuff was displayed. To the extreme right was a firewood seller, displaying a hip of firewood.
Our correspondent gathered that the compound, where the money was recovered, had two two-bedroomed flats, self-contained apartments and a room-and-parlour. Two window-sized air conditioners were said to be in the room where the currencies, reportedly stored in an anti-fire safe, were discovered.
When SUNDAY PUNCH visited the house where the money was uncovered, it was learned the older sister of the former GMD, a retired nurse fondly called “Mama,” resided there with other tenants.
The house is said to be one of the many properties owned by Yakubu. Interestingly, the unimpressive building in question is a kilometer away from the 29, Bourbillion residence of the ex-GMD by Narayi High-Cost Junction, an upscale neighborhood in the state.
However, unlike the largely attractive houses in Narayi, Sabo Tasha has all the trappings of squalor and poverty. The area does not boast of a government primary or secondary school. The less-than-a-kilometre road is untarred and driving during the rainy season, according to residents, is hellish.
“It is unfortunate that such an amount was recovered on my street where there is no good road. In fact, I am shocked and angry about the whole situation,” Musa added. For Mr. Paul Okoye, a 70-year-old welder said the discovery felt like a scene from a bad movie.
The septuagenarian noted that it was outrageous to trace such an amount of money in “hard currency” to a community lacking in life’s simple comforts.
He said, “Take a look at the deplorable condition of the road in the area. It is only a wicked person that can hide over N3bn in the midst of squalor.
Personally, I have decided to refrain from commenting on this matter because it could give me a heart attack. We are hungry and dying of poverty, yet somebody kept such a huge amount of money and can still sleep well with his two eyes closed. It is the height of wickedness. It is unfair.” A 50-year-old carpenter, who is also a motorbike rider, Mr. Godwin Odoh, echoed the same views.
Odoh has five children. He said he prayed to God to assist him and his family, since the likes of the ex-GMD could not assist the poor in their midst. “I have been living in this area for decades, and I never imagined that that amount of money could be kept in the area, not to mention the type of house where it was found,” he said. Similarly, a 33-year-old seamstress, Comfort Ojei, whose shop is opposite Yakubu’s house, said she was shocked at the EFCC’s findings.
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