EFCC Declares 4 Rivers Government Officials Wanted Over Alleged N117bn Fraud

EFCC Declares 4 Rivers Government Officials Wanted Over Alleged N117bn Fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has placed four Rivers State Government officials on its Wanted List.

The officials, comprising three men and one woman, were declared wanted by the anti-graft agency over alleged criminal conspiracy, money laundering, misappropriation of public funds and abuse of office to the tune of N117billion.

The four officials are among the 59 suspects wanted by the EFCC for offences ranging from money laundering to obtaining money by false pretence, fraud, internet-related offences and issuance of dud cheque.

The pictures of the wanted persons and the details of their alleged crimes were displayed in a notice signed by the Commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, and posted on its website.

The four Rivers government officials include one Fubara Siminayi, a 43-year-old Director of Finance of the Rivers State Government; Lekia V. Bukpor, Dagogo Rodderick Abere, and the only woman among them, Harrisonba Bessi Princewill, a cashier.

According to the EFCC, the suspects, “in their capacity as signatories to the Rivers State Government account, are alleged to have acted as proxies to several government officials, conspired and fraudulently withdrew and diverted the sum between 2015 and 2018.”

It added that all the suspects hailed from Rivers State and urged members of the public with useful information as to their whereabouts to contact any of the Commission’s offices or the nearest police station or other security agencies.

Meanwhile, the agency recently extradited a wanted suspect to the U.S. over an alleged wire fraud.

The suspect, Adedunmola Gbadegesin, is wanted by the U.S. authorities over his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.