A school allegedly belonging to Unoma Akpabio, the wife of the immediate past governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, has been seized by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
It was learnt that the seizure was part of investigations into the former governor who has been accused of alleged N108bn fraud during his tenure from 2007 to 2015.
One of our correspondents who visited the school, St. John Paul II School, in Shelter Afrique, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, observed that the school had been marked “under investigation by EFCC.”
It was learnt that the EFCC resorted to marking the school instead of shutting it so that innocent parents and students who had paid school fees would not be adversely affected.
The school, it was learnt, had been under the watchful eyes of the EFCC considering the enormous amount said to have been sunk into its construction.
Although normal academic activities were still ongoing in the school as of Wednesday, one of our correspondents who called at the school observed that a police van was stationed outside the gate.
A senior employee of the school, who refused to disclose his identity, only asked one of our correspondents to observe the ambience around the school.
He added that he was not capable to comment on any development relating to the EFCC and the school’s proprietor.
According to him, the school is serene with normal academic activities taking place.
The spokesman for the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, could not be reached on the telephone on Wednesday.
However, a senior operative at the commission confirmed that the school had been seized.
“I understand our operatives were recently in Akwa Ibom and did mark a school as ‘under investigation,’” he said.
Efforts to get Akpabio’s reaction failed as his media aide, Mr. Anietie Ekong, failed to pick calls made to his mobile phone on Wednesday night.
Ekong had told one of our correspondents on Tuesday that he was not aware of the seizure and would contact his boss on the matter.
When called again on Wednesday, he neither picked his calls nor reply a text message sent to him, asking for Akpabio’s response.
The Punch
