The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has confirmed that one of its staff, Aisha Odariko, who was linked to a fraudulent case of stockpiling about $76 million cash of unexplained origin in a duplex in Abuja, was an account officer to Mohammed Kyari Dikwa, a retired permanent secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance.
Peoples Gazette had in an exclusive report, revealed how Mrs Odariko, 43, from Okene LGA in Kogi, had been a subject of a sprawling criminal investigation by federal authorities of how $4 million cash was hauled away by sharp metal collectors at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement on Monday, the NDIC revealed that the fraud allegedly committed by Mrs Odariko has nothing to do with the federal government’s corporation.
It, however, assured that it would probe the allegation, stressing that the federal government organisation has “zero tolerance” for financial impropriety or any other action that might contravene its core values, corporate culture, and code of conduct.
“Meanwhile, our preliminary investigations into the allegations have revealed that the staff in question, while being an employee of one of the commercial banks prior to joining the NDIC in 2017, was the account officer of the former Federal Government Official referenced in the report.
“She has claimed that she was not privy to any improper financial transaction with anybody while working in the commercial bank. Nevertheless, if we come across any contrary information, we shall not hesitate to take appropriate action regarding the staff involved,” NDIC said in the statement signed by Bashir Nuhu, a spokesperson for the corporation.
The Gazette had further reported that Messrs Odariko and Kyari Dikwa conspired to run an expansive fraud ring as federal officials, especially as the whereabouts of the remaining $72 million that Mrs Odariko allegedly told a federal agent was left after the burglars stole $4 million from the $76 million stash remained questioned.
Although, Mr Kyari Dikwa, from Borno, once acted as accountant-general of the federation under President Muhammadu Buhari and retired from the civil service just before some of the hidden cash was looted.
The background of his relationship with Mrs Odariko was unclear, although officials said they were both romantically involved.
(Peoples Gazette)
