These days it seems that neither sacred cows nor hallowed halls are safe from the torchlight of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The scrutiny has become so intense that the men of the military who are used to barking out orders are actually the ones quaking in their boots.
Egged on by the anti-corruption body, a federal high court sitting in Lagos has ordered two navy big boys Captain Olotu Olumuyiwa Morakinyo and Captain Ebony Emmanuel Aneke to temporarily hand over two of their properties to the federal government with immediate alacrity. This follows a case of conspiracy, stealing and money laundering brought against them by EFCC.
While serving as maritime guard commanders with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) from September 2011 to September 2015, the two men allegedly conspired to divert money meant for the Committee of Antipiracy Logistics account of NIMASA to their personal accounts and used it to buy choice properties on the island.
Captains Aneke and Morakinyo allegedly siphoned a total of 31 million Naira and 41 million Naira respectively from NIMASA for their own use. While Morakinyo splurged some of the money on a 3-bedroom terrace duplex in Lekki Phase 4, Aneke went one step further by splashing out on a palatial 5-bedroom duplex, also in Lekki.
However, in ordering temporary forfeiture, the court is giving those who might have one claim or the other to make on the two properties the chance to do so before they are permanently given over to the federal government.