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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday denied an allegation by three lawyers that it attempted to plant foreign currency in the Epe, Lagos State house of former governor of the state, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, during an early morning search by its operatives.

The lawyers, Fatai Adebanjo, Busari Olanrewaju and Samson Okuneye, who claimed to have witnessed the search, had in a joint statement yesterday, alleged that they stopped the commission’s agents from “planting foreign currency” in the former governor’s house.
But in a statement last night, the commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Mr. Wilson Uwajaren, said the search was not an attempt to plant foreign currency in Ambode’s house but was part of its investigations into an alleged N9.93 billion fraud.

It condemned alleged attack, by people it called thugs, on its operatives. “The commission had obtained valid warrant to conduct search on Ambode’s residences in Park View, Ikoyi and country home in Epe, as part of ongoing investigation of alleged malfeasance,” it stated.

It added: “However, the commission’s operatives were attacked and prevented from executing the search warrant in Epe by irate youths who injured three officers and damaged EFCC official vehicle.
“The attack was totally unprovoked as the commission’s operatives were civil and did not molest anybody.”

The commission frowned at the attempt to manipulate the video of the search to create the wrong impression that officers of the agency molested residents at the Epe home of the governor.
It added: “It is also not true that the search, was an attempt to plant foreign currencies in the home of the former governor.”

Lawyers Alleged Attempt to Frame Ambode

Adebanjo, Olanrewaju and Okuneye, had alleged an attempt by the anti-graft agency’s agents to frame up Ambode.
Saying the EFCC attempted to prevent them from witnessing the search, the lawyers explained that the operatives eventually allowed them into the house after they had engaged them in arguments, claiming that the commission’s agents seized their phones while the operation lasted.

The lawyers stated in their statement: “Before they entered, we searched all the officials of the EFCC, who intended to go in for the search. There was a blue bag, which they were holding with them.
“We requested to see the content of the bag before they could take it in. They got angry and said we could not see the content.

“Having said that, we strongly resisted them from taking it in since they would not allow us to see it; they later agreed.
“We later got to know that the bag contained foreign currency which they brought to plant in the house of the ex-governor to incriminate him.”

According to the lawyers, the operatives, while collecting their phones, insisted that only one of the anti-graft agents would record the search, saying at the end of the operation, nothing incriminating was found in Ambode’s house except some documents, including the State Executive Exco Meetings Volumes 1-16.

The lawyers said the operatives were stopped from taking the documents away because they refused to record the items.
They stated further: “We followed them as they entered from one place to the other.

“When our presence was intimidating them, they said we should sit down while they do the search.
“We insisted that we must follow them to observe every of their activities on the premises.
“To our greatest consternation, the officials of the EFCC, led by Rotimi Oyedepo, Esq, held on to our phones and told us to follow them to their office in Ikoyi to get our phones.

“All efforts to get back our phones were abortive, as the officials rushed into their white Hiace bus with our phones and instructed that since we had resisted their efforts to take the said blue bag into the main premises of the ex-governor, they would hold on to the phones.
“Thus, almost six phones were forcefully taken away, iPhones inclusive.”