The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Monday, raided the Abuja office of the former Vice President, Namadi Sambo and seized $50,000 found in his safe.
The raid was carried out on the building which houses a top European High Commission’s Visa Processing Centre opposite the National Defence College, Abuja.
A source revealed that the operatives broke into the Safe kept by the former vice president and removed whatever valuable they found, including top branded wrist watches, assets declaration forms, and list of landed property.
The raid, it was learnt followed the discovery that one of Sambo’s aide, known as Daboh, was found to have collected the sum of N25 million from the embattled National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Olisah Metuh, as part of the sum he got from the former NSA, Dasuki Sambo.
Although Daboh was arrested on January 11 by the EFCC and later released after taking statement from him, the operatives swooped on the ex-VP’s office on Saturday with the hope of extracting ‘incriminating evidence’.
The raid took place a few days after Sambo had moved some vital documents from his residence to the office in the Central Business District, in many bags, known as “Ghana-Must-Go, which were thought to contain foreign currency.
The search was said to have been informed by the unusual movement of hefty bags into the office of Sambo’s Manyatha Company on Saturday.
Although Sambo has been on EFCC radar over funds allegedly collected from ONSA, the relocation of the suspicious bags from the home of the ex-VP to the office made the EFCC to act swiftly.
A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The ongoing investigation of $2.1 billion arms cash under ex-NSA Sambo Dasuki has been extended to the former VP. The search started on Saturday till the early hours of Monday.
“Apart from getting N20 million monthly from ONSA, we got tip-off on movement of some bags loaded with hard currency.
“All we did was to investigate this clue by searching the ex-VP’s office in a cautious manner and in the full glare of the employees.
“At the appropriate time, we will inform the public of our findings.”
Responding to a question, the highly-placed source added: “We are also looking at the circumstances behind the N20 million grant allocated to the ex-VP’s office by the ONSA.
“Ordinarily, a sitting VP has a budget for his office. It is like subjugating your office to a junior public officer if you have to be taking N20 million from the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA).
“We cannot be blind to this important aspect of monthly grant to a VP by the former security adviser. Some former presidential aides are also under investigation.”
A source close to the former VP confirmed the search of the office in Abuja’s Central Business District (CBD).
The source said: “The EFCC operatives invaded the Manyatha Company of the former Vice President on Saturday, broke the doors. The operatives did not come with any warrant and when they left, there was no record of inventories.
“What happened was that the ex-VP moved some documents in Ghana-Must-Go bags from his house to the office in the Central Business District. I think they got false alarm that dollars were stuffed in the bags and decided to raid the office on the sixth floor.
“We share the same office complex with the British Visa Section. Do you know that since Saturday, the policemen brought by the EFCC are still in the office?
“The EFCC asked the company to repair its doors before the police could leave the place.”
On the alleged N20 million collected monthly from ONSA, the source added: “It is a statutory subvention for the Office of the Vice President. When ex-President Goodluck Jonathan was VP, he was getting it. The same subvention was given to ex-VP Atiku Abubakar.
“Ex-VP Sambo is ready to defend the subvention when necessary. He did not steal public funds and he did not get campaign funds from ONSA.”
