A Beninoise businessman, Jean Codo has died in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
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Codo died in Kirikiri Prison last week having been previously arraigned on a seven-count charge by the EFCC sometimes on the 13th of January 2019. He has since been in the custody of the EFCC after failing to meet the anti-graft agency’s strict bail conditions.
LIST OF APPLICATIONS FOR REGULARISATION OF AREA COUNCIL LAND DOCUMENTS NULLIFIED/CANCELLED BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF FCT
Codo who partly owned Transport and Ports Management System Limited, a Logistics company that works closely with the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), was arraigned by the EFCC on an alleged €29million fraud, before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court.
LIST OF APPLICATIONS FOR REGULARISATION OF AREA COUNCIL LAND DOCUMENTS NULLIFIED/CANCELLED BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF FCT
One of the counts read; “That you, Jean Codo and Transport and Port Management Systems Limited (TPMSL) sometime in 2010 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, conspired to commit felony, to wit: stealing of about €29,000,000.00 (Twenty-Nine Million Euros), property of the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
Codo was initially arrested in early 2019 by the EFCC but his release was secured some days after.
It gathered from sources that the businessman always honoured invitations of the anti-graft agency and answered their call again last year. He was rearrested again and was granted bail in November 2019 but didn’t leave the custody of the EFCC because of the “strict and impossible bail conditions”.
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Our reporter also gathered that the Beninoise was asked to present two directors with properties in Ikoyi or Victoria Island as sureties, in addition to a sum of $1m. He was unable to meet these conditions, as he is not Nigerian. A source close to Codo also revealed that his company owned 2.5% shares in the Belgian logistics company, TPMSL and they work on contractual basis with the NPA.
It gathered that trouble started when a top Nigerian government official asked that the company brings 50% of its proceeds before they’d be granted further approval to work with the Ports Authority, but they refused as they told him that they would have nothing to operate with if they did that.
The top government official it was gathered, directed the agency to investigate and arraign Codo and his company and this led to a seven-count charge on them.
The late Codo tendered his evidence to the EFCC and they told him they found some transactions which he said had nothing to do with Nigeria, as he doesn’t deal directly with the Nigerian government.
Some weeks ago, the Beninoise businessman informed the EFCC of his failing health but the agency didn’t heed to his request to be allowed to go and treat himself, despite never turning down their calls in the past. “The anti-graft agency told him he was faking his illness. But they rushed him to Creek Hospital when they discovered it was more serious than first assumed”, said our source. Codo died in the hospital on the 21st of May. As at press time, we gathered his family is yet to be informed of his death.
Source: ALEDEH News
