Posted by By Bashir Adigun, Associated Press Writer on
Nigeria's anti-corruption commission seized $13.5 million from the wife of a governor in the oil-rich south and is investigating the funds' origin, officials said Monday.
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) -- Nigeria's anti-corruption commission seized $13.5 million from the wife of a governor in the oil-rich south and is investigating the funds' origin, officials said Monday.
The Economic and Financial Crime Commission seized the money from Patience Jonathan, wife of oil-rich Bayelsa State Gov. Goodluck Jonathan, after she allegedly laundered the money through an associate, agency spokesman Osita Nwajah said.
He declined to speculate on where the money had originated or how the governor's wife had allegedly come by it. "That's what the investigation will reveal," he said.
Neither the governor nor his wife were immediately available for comment.
Goodluck Jonathan took up his post last year after his predecessor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, was arrested in London for alleged corruption. After his repatriation, he was impeached, charged with graft and currently awaits trial while imprisoned. State governors enjoy immunity from prosecution while in office.
Nigeria has received over $400 billion in oil revenues since its 1960 independence, but the vast majority of its citizens scrape by on less than $2 per day. Nigeria is routinely ranked among the most corrupt countries in the world by Berlin-based graft watchdog Transparency International.