N23bn Diezani alleged fraud: EFCC arrests Senator Bent

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has continued to make more arrest of those in connection with the N23 billion made available by the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, to ensure victory of former president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 election.

As part of its renewed investigations into the case, operatives of the EFCC, on Tuesday, arrested Senator Grace Folashade Bent.

Tribune Online learnt that Bent, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Adamawa State, was arrested in connection with the Diezani election largesse.

Alison-Madueke was said to have, at that time, raised the sum $115 million (about N23.29billion) to be distributed to party stalwarts, individuals and some officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) allegedly to skew the 2015 election in favour of Jonathan.

A source informed that the Senator Bent, who represented Adamawa South in the Senate between 2007 and 2011, was arrested and interrogated in connection with the roles she played in the disbursement of the shares of N450 million her state received from the largesse.

A former Minister of Finance, Mrs Esther Nenadi Usman, had told EFCC interrogators from its Gombe zonal office that she shared about N1.850 billion to party chieftains from the six states in North-East geopolitical zone.

When contacted on phone on Wednesday to confirm the arrest, the Head, Media and Publicity, EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, refused to confirm or even deny the arrest.

He simply told the Nigerian Tribune that “I cannot say anything about that.”

Meanwhile, an EFCC insider, who would not want to be named, informed that more arrests were to follow in the coming days.

The source added that when the commission opened investigations into the slush fund last year and made some arrests, it was able to make some recoveries as some persons who benefited from the funds made some refunds.