Ikoyi Recovery: “Magu never said Whistleblower has been paid” – EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said its acting chairman never said the “young man” who blew the whistle on the money recovered from an apartment in Ikoyi is now a millionaire.

Wilson Uwujaren, spokesperson for the commission, said this in a statement while reacting to allegations made against the commission that it had neglected the whistleblower, Punch reports.

Both the whistleblower’s lawyer, Yakubu Galadima, and human rights activist Chidi Odinkalu had said the young man’s life could be in danger.

Galadima said his client is being moved from place to place for his own safety, and that the EFCC has totally abandoned him.

But in the statement by Uwujaren, he said it is not the commission’s responsibility to pay whistleblowers. He said:

Magu never said that the young man has been paid. The commission is not even directly responsible for the payment of rewards to whistleblowers.

He added that there is no controversy concerning the exact amount of the recovered money.

He said the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) took part in the recovery and counting of the money. He said:

There is also no controversy about the exact amount recovered in the operation which was streamed live, the first of its kind, and witnessed by the whistle blower, security at the towers and representative of the agency which claimed ownership of the money.