Nigeria - Another illegal pension account uncovered by the Senate

Another illegal police pension account with N3billion cash has been discovered.

The discovery, which was announced yesterday by the Senate Committee probing the management of the pension fund, deepens the scam in the pension system.

Permanent Secretary Atiku Abubakar Kigo and five other top civil servants are standing trial for the alleged theft and mismanagement of N32.8 billion police pension fund.

The Senate Committee said the account is with an old generation bank.


The N3 billion, the committee said, was deposited the same day the account was opened.

The committee said its preliminary findings showed that the account did not have the blessing of the Accountant General of the Federation.

The committee said the questionable account was opened in the name of Adamu Salihu but with different codes.

Senator Aloysius Etok, head of the Joint Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service and States and Local Government Administration, which is probing the fund, vowed to get to the root of the suspicious account.

Etok announced the invitation of Managing Directors of seven banks and the Chairman of Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, to unravel the mystery behind the series of controversial accounts on the pension fund.

The banks whose chief executives were invited by the committee are First Bank, Union Bank, Zenith Bank, Diamond Bank, Fidelity Bank, GTB and Skye Bank.

The banks’ chiefs are expected to appear before the committee on April 16.

The Executive Director (North), United Bank for Africa (UBA), Mr. Dan Okeke, who appeared before the committee to clarify issues surrounding another pension account in his bank, noted that it was not possible for one account to bear two names.

Okeke also said it was not possible under normal circumstance for two persons to operate one account.

The bank official said there was approval before the account was opened but could not say if the approval was granted before or after the controversial account was opened.

He urged the committee to give him time to fetch a copy of the approval letter for opening the account.

Okeke said: “It is highly unlikely for such to happen. If you let us have the specific case, we can go back and confirm, but under normal circumstance, two names are not supposed to bear same account number.”

Kigo and five others standing trial over N32.8 billion Nigeria Police Pension Fund, got bail yesterday.

Also granted bail are a director, Esai Dangabar; Ahmed Inuwa Wada, John Yakubu Yusufu, Mrs. Veronica Ulonma Onyegbula and Sani Habila Zira.

They are facing a 16-count charge of criminal breach of trust slammed against them by the EFCC.

The case has been adjourned till April 28 for trial