EFCC arrests FAAN official for serving as courier for money laundering

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Tuesday, arrested a security official of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Akinyele Adetule, for allegedly trying to serve as a courier in the laundering of $1.4 million (about N218 million) abroad.
A commission source disclosed that he was picked up at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos, on October 21, while in possession of the said sum.
The arrest came on the heels of the arrest of Abubakar Sheriff Tijjani, a bulk cash smuggler intercepted with $7,049.444 at the same airport on September 27.
The arrest of Mr Adetule gave fillip to the suspicion that even airport officials were part of the money laundering syndicate.
According to Mr Iliyasu Kwarbai, Head of Operations, EFCC, the suspect passed all security checks because he was wearing his FAAN identity card, but instead of boarding his flight, he proceeded to make phone calls.
“We accosted him and noticed that his bag was heavy. When we searched him, we saw the large sum of money, which he said did not belong to him and that he was only trying to telephone the owner who never showed up,” Kwarbai said.
Adetula said he was given the money by one Mr Ifeanyi Urama, a bureau-de-change operator who was recently granted bail by the EFCC after he was arrested with $996,000.
Meanwhile, the EFCC, also on Tuesday, arraigned one Adejugbe Anthony and his company, Tonique Oil Services Limited, before Justice Lateefat Okunnu of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja, on a two-count charge bordering on stealing and fraud.
The accused was alleged to fraudulently convert the sum of N272,5000,000 obtained from Water Gate Petroleum and Gas Limited for the supply of five million litres of PMS to defray his liabilities with Sterling Bank, without supplying the product for which he was paid.
He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges when read to him.
Justice Okunnu adjourned the matter till November 19 and ordered that the accused be remanded in prison custody.