16th June, 2012
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has denied allegations that it discovered a bag full of cocaine during a raid on the Abuja residence of Mr. Richie Imoh Tommy, a brother- in- law to Timipre Sylva, former governor of Bayelsa State early Friday morning.
While confirming the raid on Tommy’s residence, Wilson Uwujaren, spokesperson for the anti-corruption agency said there was no seizure of cocaine during the search.
“There was a raid, but there was no cocaine”, Uwujaren told PM NEWS on telephone.
“What we recovered were cash and documents”, he added.
But in a statement issued this afternoon, Tommy had indicated that after a thorough search of the house failed to yield anything incriminating,the EFCC men who came for the operation had produced a bag which contained cocaine from nowhere.
Tommy, in the statement signed by one Patrick Umoh, his Special Assistant, said the EFCC operatives then arrested and took him away for detention on the basis of what is in the bag.
“Tommy completely denies ownership of the said bag,and wonders why even without a test or investigation, EFCC would claim to have found cocaine in his house. Besides, it remains curious how EFCC suddenly became a drug-busting organ”, Umoh who claimed Tommy is being been denied access to his lawyers said.
He also described EFCC search on his residence and the allegation of a cocaine-laden bag as “another desperate mission targeted at his in-law, the former Bayelsa State governor, by agents of President Goodluck Jonathan”.
EFCC recently arraigned the former Bayelsa State governor in court over allegations that he stole about N6.5 billion from the Bayelsa State treasury while he was in power.
The anti-graft body said he committed the fraud between October 2009 and February 2010.
The Agency alleged that Sylva looted public funds under false pretence of using the monies to augment salaries of the Bayelsa State government.