A Lagos-based banker who managed an account owned by Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State has told Nigerian police authorities that the governor threatened her life.
In a letter to the police, Oyetola Oyeleke stated that, in 2009, while working for Guaranty Trust Bank Plc., she had received a call from Mr. Emmanuel, who wished to open a corporate account in the name of Chashar Farms Limited and wanted her to manage it. Ms. Oyeleke stated that, shortly after opening the account, she discovered that Mr. Emmanuel’s Chashar Farms address did not exist.
Even so, she disclosed that Mr. Emmanuel made several deposits in the account approximately totaling N507m. According to her, one particular deposit of N300m could not be completed as the account name, and the number did not match.
In the face of that discrepancy, Ms. Oyeleke revealed that her boss requested to speak with Mr. Emmanuel, adding that the future governor declined. Instead, he instructed Ms. Oyeleke to keep his account and transactions within it secret going forward. He also reportedly confirmed that the mismatched transaction of N300m belonged to him.
The banker asserted that Governor Emmanuel held a private meeting with her, instructing her to move his funds to an account with Ascorp Petroleum Limited. He further asked her to then loan the money from that account to companies at a 15 percent interest rate.
According to her, she subsequently loaned N375m through Ascorp Petroleum Limited to a company called Euroflow Designs Limited, an oil service company seeking to purchase a vessel.
She stated that, after a contract had fallen through, Euroflow was unable to pay back the loan on the timetable agreed by the two parties. However, she claimed that the company never denied receipt of the loan, adding that the debtor firm sought to meet with Mr. Emmanuel to assure him of their intention to repay the loan.
The banker disclosed that Mr. Emmanuel began to track her movement and soon ordered her to transfer his money to Zenith Bank. When she reminded him of their earlier arrangement, Mr. Emmanuel became enraged and threatened to kill her family and her, Ms. Oyeleke claimed.
In a twist in the case, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc. informed the police that Mrs. Oyeleke engaged in the mismanagement of Chashar Farms’ account, and petitioned for her arrest. Bank and legal documents stated that she fraudulently accessed Chashar Farms’ account and diverted the funds for personal gains. The documents also portrayed Ms. Oyeleke as working in concert with Mr. Emmanuel.
On May 25, 2015, Ms. Oyeleke was arrested along with Jimi Bademosi and Godwin Adamolekun, the director and chairman, respectively, of Euroflow. The director and chairman were released on bail the next day.
Documents obtained by SaharaReporters indicate that police investigation into the shady financial transactions pertaining to Governor Emmanuel’s account was still ongoing.
SaharaReporters attempted to contact Ms. Oyeleke, but our correspondent was unable to reach her before going to press.
Read Mrs. Oyeleke's statement to the police and an offical court document from the case below.
