Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Patricia Etteh has been released by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Etteh, who was arrested on Tuesday over a contract worth N240 million awarded by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in which she was allegedly paid N130 million through a company, Phil Jin Project Limited, was able to return home on Friday on administrative bail, a source who preferred anonymity told PUNCH.
It was gathered that the alleged fraudulent incident happened in 2011 when NDDC awarded a contract of N240 million to Phil Jin Project Limited for the supply of solar powered street lights in some communities in Akwa Ibom.
“Shortly after the contract was awarded, the firm got N34 million as an initial sum. Two weeks later, they received N253 million, a total of N287 million. This is despite the fact that the contract itself was worth N240 million,” a source within the agency told the newspaper.
Etteh resigned from her position as speaker on allegations of money laundering.
Her arrest on Tuesday came barely 24 hours after the accountant-general of the federation (AGF) Ahmed Idris was arrested over alleged N80 billion fraud. As of press time, Idris had not been released by the EFCC.
