Ex-Power ministry perm sec Igali nabbed over N1.5bn Jonathan campaign fund

- Godknows Igali has been named as the retired civil servant that had 40 SUVs and other vehicles in his possession

- An EFCC source said Igali used an insurance company to buy the vehicles worth around N1.5bn for the Goodluck Jonathan campaign organisation

- The EFCC had a tough time tracing the transactions that produced the vehicles to Igali because they were not made from his personal bank accounts

Godknows Igali, a former permanent secretary in the ministry of power, has been accused of misappropriation of government funds by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The Punch reports that Igali was discovered by the EFCC to have reportedly spent N1.5billion to buy vehicles that were used for former president Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign organisation.

An EFCC source who revealed Igali’s name said that the commission discovered his involvement through an artisan who alerted the agency after seeing the huge number of vehicles while carrying out a maintenance work at Igali’s Abuja residence.

The source said: “He (Igali) had allegedly secured the 47 vehicles in well guarded premises in an upscale neighbourhood of Abuja but he ran out of luck when an artisan who had come to fix a faulty utility got curious by the avalanche of state-of –the-art vehicles parked on the premises and tipped off the EFCC.

“The commission immediately commenced discreet investigation. In the course of investigation, it discovered that all the vehicles were supplied by Dilly Motors at the instance of Igali.”

The EFCC had difficulties tracing the transaction to Igali because it was not made from his bank accounts. The transactions were discovered to have been made to the suppliers of the car through an insurance company which is under EFCC investigation itself.

The source added: “It was initially difficult to determine the source of the funds with which the vehicles were purchased as it did not come directly from Igali’s account but a breakthrough came as the commission stumbled on evidence of a curious payment To Dilly Motors from the account of Baseworth Insurance Brokers Limited, a company that was under investigation in another case of alleged diversion of N27bn insurance premium of deceased staff of the PHCN“In one of the transfers, N300m was paid to Dilly Motors from the account of Baseworth Insurance Brokers. Operatives of the commission were curious to determine the service which Dilly Motors rendered to Baseworth Insurance Brokers to warrant payment. Dilly Motors on interrogation allegedly admitted that the N300m was part of the N1.5bn paid by Igali for the purchase of vehicles for the Goodluck/Sambo Campaign organisation to prosecute the 2015 general election.”

The Punch reports Igali has been released on bail and could be arraigned in court soon.

Recall that information minister Lai Mohammed had alleged on Thursday, December 29 that 40 SUVs and other vehicles were recovered from a former permanent secretary but did not mention the name of the person.

But the EFCC source has now named Godknows Igali as the retired civil servant Mohammed referred to.