The former Kwara State Governor
Bukola Saraki is expected at the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigeria Police in
Lagos on Monday (today) following allegations of an N11bn loan scam preferred
against him.
He was invited by the SFU to appear
before the unit on Friday but pleaded for an extension of time till Monday on
the grounds that he had to attend a funeral of a relation.
In a statement made by Ngozi
Isintume, the spokesperson for the SFU, a group of companies – Joy Petroleum
Limited, Skyview Properties Ltd, Dicetrade, and Limkers Nigeria Ltd – were
given loans by the bank under the management of Mr. Erastus Akingbola.
The said loans were allegedly
promoted by Saraki between 2004 and 2009 when he was a governor.
The SFU noted that the
loans/facilities were used to purchase shares of blue chip companies and choice
landed properties in Lagos and Abuja, some of which were used to secure the loans.
However, Akingbola's successor after
a shake up by the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Mahmood Alabi, allegedly granted
a waiver of N9.97bn, representing about 82 per cent of N11.97bn indebtedness.
Also, the landed properties worth
billions of naira used to secure the loans were curiously released after
payment of only N2.3bn out of the N11.97bn jointly owed the bank by the
companies.
Last week, Alabi was arrested by the
SFU and interrogated but was subsequently released on bail.
The Commissioner of Police, SFU, Mr.
Tunde Ogunsakin, told our correspondent on the telephone on Sunday that Saraki
had promised to report on Monday.
"We are expecting Saraki on
Monday (today)," he said.
Ogunsakin, however, denied reports
that the current Kwara State governor, Mr. Abdulfatai Ahmed, who was
Commissioner for Finance when Saraki obtained the loans, would be invited to
the SFU.
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