A purported theft of an undisclosed sum in US Dollars has reportedly rocked the Office of the Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State.
Deputy Governor, Emmanuel Agbadu Akabe, has set a deadline for the restitution of the allegedly stolen funds.
As per information provided by a confidential aide of the deputy governor, who spoke anonymously, the stolen amount is believed to be around N20 million.
The purported incident transpired just before the Christmas break and reportedly implicated two security aides and a Protocol Officer within the deputy governor’s office.
These security aides and the protocol officer are under suspicion for allegedly conspiring to carry out the theft.
The anonymous insider, who refrained from disclosing his identity due to a lack of authorization to discuss the matter, revealed that the trio, whose identities are being kept confidential, purportedly stole the funds and subsequently divided the ill-gotten gains among themselves. Notably, the security aides were said to have received the lion’s share of the stolen money.
The aide claimed that the security aides purchased a vehicle and a motorcycle, while the protocol officer used his share, N3.5 million, to acquire a house.
The alleged stolen funds, reported to be in foreign currency, were said to belong to foreign investors interested in Lithium mining in Nasarawa State.
Reportedly, the money in question was left in a bag within the deputy governor’s office following a meeting involving three companies entangled in a mining rights dispute over sites in Nasarawa Local Government Area.
The source indicated that there is a possibility that leaving the money in the deputy governor’s office after the meeting was a deliberate attempt to frame him in some way.
“I think the money was left in the deputy governor’s office to set him up and indict him in a bribery scandal in order to rubbish his image for refusing to compromise or do their bidding,” the source said.
The source further revealed that, upon the discovery of the purported theft, Deputy Governor Akabe initiated an independent investigation, which reportedly verified the involvement of the three individuals.
Allegedly, the suspects have admitted to the crime, providing details on how they distributed the stolen money among themselves.
In response, the deputy governor has set a deadline for the suspects to return the stolen funds in dollars, with the intention of restoring them to the rightful owner, believed to be a foreign investor involved in the lithium mining project.
The matter is currently within the jurisdiction of the relevant security authorities. Notably, the two security aides implicated in the incident are associated with the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).