The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has seized a
filling station and a shopping complex from a self-acclaimed building
engineer, Abdullahi Rilwan, for failing to explain where he got the
money to buy the properties.
The EFCC Act Section 71 (B) gives the commission the power
to commence investigations into the property of any person if it appears
to the EFCC that the person’s lifestyle and extent of properties are
not justified by law.
The EFCC said in a statement by its spokesman, Mr. Wilson
Uwujaren, that Rilwan was also arrested for offences bordering on
operating a land racketeering syndicate, criminal conspiracy, unlawful
possession of classified documents, obtaining by false pretence and
money laundering.
The filling station seized by EFCC
According to the commission, the suspect was first accosted
in the Kuje Area Council of Abuja during a separate investigation into
the $2.1bn arms procurement fraud.
Detectives were said to have visited the area to verify the
ownership of several properties suspected to be proceeds of money
laundering.
In the course of investigating the ownership of a filling
station and a shopping complex both still under construction located
along Pegi Road, in the Kuje Area Council, operatives gathered that
Rilwan was in charge of the construction work.
The statement added, “Rilwan, who was subsequently engaged,
denied ownership of the station, but confirmed he was the engineer in
charge of the construction work. He admitted to being the owner of the
shopping complex. He also told operatives that he was the owner of two
companies, Kaibo Oil and Gas and Kaibo Properties, but could not account
for the source of wealth.
“A visit to his office, however, revealed that he was involved in several shady and suspicious business transaction deals.”
It was learnt that the revelation made EFCC operatives to
beam its searchlight on Rilwan’s business activities. Subsequently, on
October 31, a search and arrest warrant was executed at his Kuje
residence.
The statement added, “The search unearthed several
implicating documents in his custody, many of which he used to sell
plots of land. Properties recovered from his residence in Kuje, include
letter-head papers in the name of Kuje Area Council allocating plots of
land, an ‘Irrevocable Power of Attorney’ in favour of Air Commodore
Bassy Inyang, a ‘Right of Occupancy’ document granted to Henryville
Farms, Abuja, among other implicating documents.
“The filling station and the complex are currently under
investigation, and he would be charged to court as soon as the
investigations are concluded.”
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