Lai Mohammed

Nigeria’s minister of Information and Culture,  Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has denied insinuations that the  said the Federal Government has began the probe of the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan with the freezing of four accounts with $15m deposit belonging to former First Lady, Patience.

The Information minister told journalists in Oro, Kwara State, on Tuesday that Mrs. Jonathan roped herself into the money laundering investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission when she said the $15m under probe belonged to her.

“If you look at the history of Mrs. Patience Jonathan’s issue, I think she was the one that came out to claim that the money found in the accounts of one of the aides to the former President, her husband, belonged to her.

“It was not the EFCC that claimed so. It was only then they later found an extra $5m in another account.

“It is not as if anybody has gone out to probe Mrs. Jonathan directly or indirectly. Rather Mrs. Jonathan was the one that said ‘that money for which you are accusing Mr. X actually belongs to me. So, you cannot start talking of prosecution or persecution,” the Information Minister said.