Osborn Towers: Whistleblower faults EFCC, denies receiving cash or counseling

* We never said we have paid whistleblower – EFCC

The whistle-blower that gave information leading to the recovery of humongous N13billion cash from Flat 7B Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, has faulted the claims of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that he is now a millionaire and is undergoing counselling of fund and business management.

Lawyer to the whistleblower, Mr Yakubu Galadima, stated this on Friday.

Galadima further alleged that EFCC is yet to pay the five percent statutory recommendation to his client, saying that he had already written to the federal government on the matter and also reminded the government of its commitment to his client.

The lawyer, who spoke with journalists on the premises of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja on Friday, described as false the statement from the Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, that his client is now a millionare.

He also claimed that EFCC has abandoned his client and does not know his whereabouts Magu had on Thursday in Vienna – Austria, stated that the “young man” who blew the whistle had already become a millionaire. We are currently working on the young man because this is just a man who has not seen N1million of his own before.

“So, he is under counseling on how to make good use of the money and the security implication. We don’t want anything bad to happen to him after taking delivery of his entitlement. He is a national pride.”

Debunking the claims, Galadima alleged that the whistle-blower, whose name was not disclosed for security reason, had been abandoned, adding that EFCC does not even know his present location let alone offering him counseling services.

The lawyer said, “The EFCC does not even know the whereabouts of my client. He is presently living from hand to mouth having been abandoned by the commission.

“We have written to the President and even to Magu himself and we have yet to get any form of response. I even sent Magu an SMS this morning debunking the allegation that my client has been paid; but as I speak, I have yet to get a response from him.”

The lawyer further disclosed that he had written a letter dated October 10, 2017, to President Muhammadu Buhari , through the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Justice, but neither the President nor the AGF had given them any information.

But the EFCC has clarified its earlier statement on the whistleblower, insisting that the Commission never said that it has paid him the percentage due to him.

In a statement on Friday in Abuja by its Head, Media and Publicity, the EFCC explained that what Magu said was the need to encourage citizens to be more vigilant and embrace the whistleblowing policy if not for anything but for the monetary reward that comes with it.

The commission added that the reference to the whistleblower as a millionaire is only an illustration.

The statement reads in part, “It has become necessary to clarify the statement credited to the acting chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu regarding the status of the whistle blower in the Osborne Tower cash recovery.

“What Magu said at the 7th Session of the Council of State Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption in Vienna, Austria, was that citizens should be encouraged to embrace whistle blowing because of the incentives attached.

“To illustrate this, he stated that the gentleman who provided the information that triggered the huge recovery at Osborne Towers in Ikoyi was already a millionaire based on the incentive in the whistle blower policy where information providers are entitled to between 2.5 and 5 % of the recovered sum”.

Quoting part of the earlier misinterpreted statement, Uwujaren said, “We are currently working on the young man because this is just a man who has not seen one million Naira of his own before. So he is under counseling on how to make good use of the money and also the security implication. We don’t want anything bad to happen to him after taking delivery of his entitlement. He is national pride”.

Uwujaren also stated that “Magu never said that the young man has been paid. The Commission is not even directly responsible for the payment of rewards to whistle blowers.”

On the exact amount recovered in the apartment and the expected reward to the whistle blower, Uwujaren said, “There is also no controversy about the exact amount recovered in the operation which was streamed live, the first of its kind, and witnessed by the whistle blower, security at the Towers and representative of the Agency which claimed ownership of the money”.