Why Pius Anyim was arrested- EFCC
The operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Anyim Pius Anyim.
A source close to the EFCC, told The Daily Times last night that Anyim was invited on Friday and was still at the commission’s office in Abuja at press time.
The source added that the former SGF is being questioned for his role in the alleged mismanagement of N13billion ecological fund while in office as SGF among other matters.
It was further gathered that the former Senate President is being questioned over his alleged role in the use of firms in which he had interest to award N13billion contracts from the Ecological Fund Account domiciled in his office.
The operatives of the EFCC are also quizzing Anyim on the propriety of collecting N520million from the Office of the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki, on the eve of the 2015 presidential poll.
Operatives of the anti-graft agency are further said to be questioning Anyim on false assets declaration to the agency.
He was said to have been arrested on Thursday afternoon after he failed to honour a 10am appointment by the agency.
The commission had secured a warrant arrest and immediately executed the document on his property while some documents relevant to the investigation were recovered during the process.
A top source at the commission also listed companies linked to Anyim and through which he obtained contracts or laundered proceeds of the ecological funds contracts to include: Foundation Years Limited, Precious Integrated, Precious Petroleum, Mak & Mak, Chap
Construction, Eldyke Engineering, Pryke Limited, Chipa Nigeria Limited, Prima A11 Limited, Pima International, Chanto Engineering, Ishiagu Microfinance Bank, Mulak Ventures, Vitro Engineering and Tip Top Nigeria. According to the source, during the period when Anyim was the SGF from May 2011 to May 29, 2015 and specifically between May 2012 to May 2015, an inflow of N58,146,983,677.85 got into the SGF Ecological Fund Account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The source further disclosed that, “From this fund, three of the companies linked to Anyim, Foundation Years, Obis Associate and Eldyke Engineering received contracts worth over N13billion.
“Foundation Years alone received a net payment of N10,308,017,838.85 between 2014 and 2015. Curiously, on receiving the fund, Foundation Years and another of Anyim’s company, Br-Kthru made several transfers to 37 entities.
“Some of the organizations and individuals have no nexus at all with ecological issues. Investigators are probing the reasons behind the wild disbursement.”
Confirming the development, the spokesman of the EFCC, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, disclosed that Anyim was being held over an “ongoing investigation”.
Tunde Opalana
