Former Governor of Kwara State, Dr. Bukola Saraki yesterday shunned
invitation by the Police Special Fraud Unit, SFU, Milverton, Ikoyi, to
answer questions bothering on an alleged N11 billion loan scam at the
defunct Intercontinental Bank.
Saraki, who was billed to appear at the SFU, reportedly wrote the
unit, promising to honour its invitation yesterday. But as at 6pm, he
was yet to arrive to explain his alleged involvement in the loan scam.
The unit, had last week arrested former Managing Director of defunct
Intercontinental Bank, Mr Mahmoud Alabi, for allegedly writing off a N9
billion loan and granting another N9 billion loan without a directive
from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
During investigation, the unit, according to its spokes person, Mrs
Ngozi Insitume, discovered that “the companies that jointly incurred
this indebtedness were Joy Petroleum Limited, Skyview Properties Ltd,
Dicetrade, and Limkers Nigeria Ltd. The debts originated from several
loans/facilities worth billions of Naira granted the companies, which
were allegedly promoted by Senator Bukola Saraki between 2004 and 2009
when he was the Governor of Kwara State.
“The billions of Naira loans/facilities were used to purchase shares
of bluechip companies and choice landed property in Lagos and Abuja.
Some of the landed property worth billions of naira used to secure the
loans were curiously released after payment of only N2.3Billion out of
the N11.97 jointly owed the bank by the companies.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Erastus Akingbola under whose management most of the
loans were approved, she said, had also made useful statement to the
police, adding that . Investigation was on to determine the propriety
of releasing the title documents to these landed properties used as
collaterals which would have been sold to set off part of the balance
debt.
Saraki as gathered, is expected to explain why and how the loan were
written off and how choice properties in high brow areas of Lagos such
as Ikoyi and Victoria Island were purchased with the contentious loan,
only to end up being used as collateral for the same loan.
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