A level six account officer of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Christy Olabode, has been arrested by the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for an alleged fraud of N100 million.
Also arrested were her younger brother, Abdul-Shehu Obaze, who worked at the commercial department of FAAN in Ilorin andDominic Ojo, an IT officer at the headquarters in Lagos, the EFCC said in a statement.
In the statement issued in Abuja on Friday, August 5, by the Commission's spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, the arrest followed an anonymous petition, which indicated that the accountant allegedly diverted the said sum by inserting names of non-FAAN staff into its payroll.
The statement said she allegedly conspired with Obaze, who was found to have maintained not less than eight accounts in seven new generation banks to perpetrate the fraud.
The banks were used to receive the funds for onward distribution to some high ranking officers in FAAN.
"The funds were being paid into his various bank accounts with the narrative, Furniture Allowance," the statement said.
"However, while the allowance for FAAN's furniture is usually paid once in three years, Obaze received the allowance several times in a year.’’
It added that investigations by the EFCC revealed that the fraud had gone on since 2013.
It further added that the investigations unearthed a payroll with names of many dead, retired and disengaged staff of FAAN listed against Obaze's different bank accounts.
"Upon interrogation, Obaze, a level nine officer, confessed that other FAAN officials were involved in the fraud, including Olabode's husband, who works in the human resources department of FAAN.
"Olabode and Ojo currently enjoy administrative bail while Obaze remains in EFCC custody,’’ the statement further said.
It added that they will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.
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