$2.1: EFCC to declare former Executive Secretary NHIS wanted

A month after operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested one Ibiteye John Bamidele at the airport for being in possession of $2,198,900, agents of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have discovered that the real owner of the money is one Dr. Olufemi Martins Thomas, former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS.

According to the EFCC, it had finalized plan to declare, Thomas, wanted, over a $2.1million money laundering case. The move to declare him wanted became imperative after the man suddenly seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

According to the EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujarem, who confirmed  plan to declare Thomas wanted,  the anti-graft agency had been on the trail of the former NHIS boss for weeks, since Bamidele named him as the owner of a $2,198,900 haul, recovered from him by men of the NDLEA.

It will be recalled that Ibiteye was arrested on July 3, 2015 at the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos by the NDLEA and handed over to the EFCC on July 8, for further investigation.

Ibiteye, 46, a Bureau De Change operator was in possession of $2,198,900, about N500 million, cash.

Ibiteye told NDLEA that the money belonged to a client identified as Dr Martins Thomas, a medical practitioner in Lagos.

He added that he was acting on the instruction of Thomas, who asked him to take the money to Abuja.

Ibiteye said: “I used to work for Ebi Bureau De Change at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, before I established my company with the name ND&C Global Investment Limited which is yet to be fully registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).  One of my clients, Dr. Martins Olufemi Thomas, gave me the said amount to take to Abuja. I was arrested by NDLEA officers while checking-in the money at MM2 on my way to Abuja.”

 NDLEA seized the money on the grounds of suspected money laundering.

The Head, Media and Publicity, NDLEA, Mitchel Ofoyeju, said: “Preliminary investigation conducted by the Assets and Financial Investigation Directorate of our agency revealed that the man’s action is in contravention of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 (as Amended). He alleged that the money belongs to one Dr. Martins Olufemi Thomas, a medical practitioner in Lagos.”

Uwujaren said that after Ibiteye mentioned Thomas as the owner of the money, all efforts to locate him, both at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital in Lagos and his known address in Abuja, proved futile.

Uwujaren said: “We urge anyone with information on the whereabouts of the former NHIS boss to contact the Commission or the nearest police station.”