While the heat generated by the
$9.3 M money laundering scandal is yet to die down, we stumbled on some messy
details surrounding the matter last week, which would definitely shivers down the
spines of keen watchers of events in the country.
The story revolves round Felix
Idiga, a well known billionaire in the south east part of Nigeria; who has
emerged as one of the new breed billionaires from that region.
He is a close confidant of the embattled
President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor.
Super rich Idiga is said to be
the Chief Executive Officer of JAFAC Group, and he is into construction with
Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), which is his major customer.
Reliable sources squealed last
week that Idiga got most of his money through his association with the top
shots of NDDC and major militants in the south- south.
He was allegedly involved in oil
bunkering along with emergency money bags like Scott Tommey and Delta-based
Ayeri.
It was not surprising then, when
his name was traced to the funds scuttled by the South African police. Those
who know him well were not too surprised based on his antecedents.
He reportedly dumped the Governor
of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha recently to pitch tent with the ruling party, PDP
just like Ali Modu Sheriff, to pursue his senatorial ambition in Imo.
Investigations revealed that the
private jet with a US registration number N808HG was one of the two jets cited
by South African officials on September 5 and is owned by Pastor Ayo
Oritsejafor.
The second is a jet registered
with the name, Felix Idiga, the owner of Jafac Limited.
Pastor Oritsejafor’s jet arrived
South Africa with $9.3 million cash loaded in several suitcases meant for the
purchase of arms and ammunitions.
We were told that under the South
African laws, a person entering or leaving the country is expected to carry
cash not exceeding R25, 000 (about US$2, 300), or the equivalent in foreign
currency notes.
Also, arms usually involved a complex bank
transfer system needed to move the money between the countries involved in the
deal; they are rarely done in cash.
This contravention of the South
African law and other laws governing the movement of cash and the purchase of
arms and ammunition proved that the intended transaction was illegal and is
possibly intended to smuggle arms to Nigerian to continue to equip terrorists
in the North, pirates and militants in the Niger Delta and other forms of
insurgence in Nigeria.
However, efforts made to get the
reaction of Felix Idiga to the story last week proved abortive as he did not
react to the text message sent to his phone at 4.25pm on September 17 despite
the fact that the phone indicated that the message was delivered.