N108bn Fraud Saga: EFCC seizes Akpabio’s Wife’s School

A school allegedly belonging to Unoma Akpabio, wife of ex-governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State, has been seized by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

It was learnt that the seizure was part of investigations into the former governor who has been accused of allegedly stealing as much as N108bn during his tenure as governor.

A Punch correspondent who visited the school, St. John Paul II School, in Shelter Afrique, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, observed that the school had been marked “under investigation by EFCC.”
It was learnt that the EFCC resorted to marking the school instead of shutting it so that innocent parents and students who had paid school fees would not be adversely affected. The school, it was learnt, had been under the watchful eyes of the EFCC considering the enormous amount said to have been sunk into its construction. How did the wife get the money?

A senior EFCC operative confirmed that the school had been seized.

Efforts to get Akpabio’s reaction failed as his media aide, Mr. Anietie Ekong, failed to pick calls made to his mobile phone on Wednesday night.

A source at the EFCC said, “We have written to Zenith Bank, Keystone Bank, FCMB, Skye Bank, and UBA demanding information on the state’s accounts. We are also inviting the accountant-general, the auditor-general, the Speaker and the clerk of the House of Assembly.

“We have traced some houses to the former governor in Lagos and Abuja and it is just a matter of time before we seize them.”

Akpabio, who is now the Senate Minority Leader, was accused of embezzling public funds while he was governor of the oil-rich state.