EFCC Impounds N49m at Kaduna Airport

• EFCC Impounds N49m at Kaduna Airport

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday impounded N49m abandoned in five sacks at the Kaduna International Airport.

The owner of the money is suspected to have attempted to smuggle it out of the country.

The EFCC said in a statement by its spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, that the bags were left unattended to and without tags.

According to the commission, upon examination, the bags were found to contain crispy naira notes with seals purportedly emanating from the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc seen on the packs.

The statement read in part, “Operatives of the EFCC, Kaduna Zonal Office, on Tuesday, intercepted the sum of N49m in five large black 150kg sacks following a tip-off.

“During a routine baggage screening, five sacks were sighted unattended to and without tags; they contained fresh bulk items suspected to be money.

“Upon examination, the bags were found to contain crispy naira notes of N200 denomination in 20 bundles totalling N40m and N50 denomination in 180 bundles totalling N9m with seals purportedly emanating from the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc seen on the packs.”

The EFCC added that investigations into the matter had commenced to identify the culprits.

The Head of the EFCC, Kaduna Zonal Office, Mr. Ibrahim Bappah, who spoke on the strange discovery, told newsmen that the money was found at the baggage check-in of the Kaduna International Airport, ready to be taken out of the country.

Bappah said the discovery of the cash was made possible via a tip-off, prompting the operatives of the anti-graft agency to intercept the money.

Explaining that the owner of the cash initially showed up, Bappah said the owner, whose name was not given to journalists, could not authenticate the amount in the sacks and disappeared before EFCC officials arrived at the scene.

He said the agency would begin investigation to know the source of the money and its real owner.

“His inability to give any concrete explanation made him become uncomfortable and he disappeared into thin air before the arrival of EFCC operatives,” he said.