The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday explained that it is investigating a former Director of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Warredi Enisuoh, for alleged money laundering.
Enisuoh, who currently works as Executive Director of a private security firm known as Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, has been detained by EFCC since last Thursday.
The private security company headed by ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo, had alleged that the EFCC arrested and detained Enisuoh over his refusal to reveal his intelligence sources to the anti-graft agency.
But EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed that though Enisuoh is currently under investigation, the case is unrelated to oil pipeline security or his role in Tompolo’s company.
The anti-graft agency disclosed that Enisuoh is under investigation in an alleged case of money laundering involving the criminal dissipation of funds in an account held by him but which is the subject of a longstanding investigation by the EFCC.
As an official of NIMASA, the anti-graft agency said Enisuoh is being prosecuted alongside former Director General of the agency, Patrick Akpobolokemi for fraudulent conversion of various sums of money belonging to the agency.
“In the course of that investigation, over $420,000, suspected proceeds of illicit activities, was traced to an account held by him. The Commission had obtained a Court Order to freeze the account and preserve the funds, but Enisuoh in 2018 secured an Order of the Court of Appeal to lift the freeze Order. However, the Court of Appeal did not find in favour of Captain Warredi Enisouh that the funds in issue were not proceeds of unlawful activities.
“The Commission received intelligence that Enisuoh dissipated the funds reasonably suspected to be the proceeds of his unlawful activities within three days in May 2018. He was on the Commission’s watch list until January 19, 2023, when he was taken into custody. A remand notice was duly filed to keep him, pending the conclusion of the investigation. He is cooperating with the investigation and has already returned $100,000 to the account.
“The Commission is a critical stakeholder in the fight against oil theft and has demonstrated this by successfully prosecuting perpetrators of a such heinous crime. It will therefore not take any step to frustrate the determination of the government to fight oil theft and sundry offences,” Uwujaren said.
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