Ex-Accountant General, Otunla, OFR, Refunds N6.3b To Federal Govt

Former Accountant-General of the Federation (AGoF), Jonah Ogunniyi Otunla OFR, has refunded a humongous sum of N6.3 billion to the coffers of the Federal Government to avoid being prosecuted.

Otunla was the Accountant-General of the Federation between 2011 and 2015. He returned N6,392,000,000.00.

Details of the deals leading to the refunds are contained in documents Otunla filed in court to back up the suits they instituted against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC).

In the suits, he queried the decision of the anti-graft agencies to insist on prosecuting them on corruption charges after they were told to make refunds in lieu of prosecution.

Otunla claimed that the former acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, promised him that he would not be prosecuted, should he return funds traced to him, companies linked to him, and his associates.

He stated that sometime in 2015, he was invited by a team of EFCC investigators, probing alleged diversion of funds from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) pension funds.

Otunla said he met with Magu in the course of the investigation, when the then acting EFCC chair told him to “refund the monies linked to your companies and nobody will prosecute you.”

He said based on Magu’s promise, he had a reconciliatory meeting with the investigator, where he immediately undertook to make available some funds as refunds.

In line with the agreement, Otunla said one of the companies linked to him – Stellar Vera Development Ltd – refunded N750m; another company – Damaris Mode Coolture Ltd – refunded N550m, while the two firms later made additional joint refund of N2,150,000,000.00.

He added that, at a point, he raised several bank cheques for N10m in favour of the EFCC which he handed to its Economic Governance Section.

Otunla said in all he made a refund of N6,392,000,000.00 to the Federation Account through the EFCC.

He is praying the court, in the suit he filed against the EFCC, to, among others, hold that in view of the assurance given to him by Magu, which informed his refund of the money, he could no longer be prosecuted for his actions while in office.