The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested former Managing Director of the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company, Ehi Okomoyon in Abuja over his role in the bribery scandal that rocked the printing of polymer notes during the tenure of Professor Charles Soludo as Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Huhuonline.com learnt that Okomoyon who was arrested on Sunday has remained in the EFCC custody, as operatives continue to investigate the matter.
Okomoyon was also the head of the Mint during the controversial disappearance of N1000 fresh bank notes amounting to N2.1bn, which forced him to resign recently.
Securency, the Australian company that won the bid to print the polymer notes, had earlier admitted paying several millions of dollars as bribe to top Nigerian finance officials to enable to win the bid. It was also learnt that the EFCC had grilled Okomoyon over the disappearance of the N1000 fresh bank notes of N2.1 billion.
Although information about his arrest was sketchy at the time of this report, EFCC spokesperson Wilson Uwujaren confirmed that Okomoyon was being questioned.
Earlier in January, EFCC had arrested Prof. Soludo over the matter. Soludo’s arrest then was as a result of the petition written by Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) in May 2012, calling on the commission to investigate alleged contract scam in the award of the polymer banknotes printing.
In the petition, Chairman of HEDA, Mr. Olanrewaju Surajuhad demanded the investigation and possible prosecution of serving and former government officials, including CBN staffers indicted in the scandal during the tenure of Prof. Soludo between 2006 and 2008.
The petition reminded the anti corruption institutions of a publication of Sydney Herald “that on September 29, 2009, a day before the launch of the N5, N10 and N15 polymer notes, Benoy Berry, a British businessman wrote a letter to Myles Curtis (then Managing Director of Securency International Pty Limited, an Australian company) alleging a breach of contract and accusing the bank note company of bribing top officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria to secure contract for Securency.
“Prominent among the names featured in the secret memo were that of the then CBN Governor, Prof. Soludo, senior officials of the finance ministry and a former president.”
