Timber Kesiye Wabote
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has intensified its investigation into the alleged misappropriation of 35 million dollars linked to a Brass Project.
Sources in the Commission say a former Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board, Timber Kesiye Wabote, was detained on Wednesday for the second time in two weeks.
Wabote, who served as the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB from 2016 to 2023 is being investigated over funds provided for the development of an Energy Infrastructure Park in Okpoama Community in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
The project, financed with counterpart funding from the NCDMB was intended to include a 2,000-barrel-per-day refinery, a jetty, gas and power plants, a data centre and a tank farm.
The EFCC alleged that 35 million dollars paid to Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited for the project was misappropriated.
The company, led by its Managing Director, Akintoye Adeoye Akindele, reportedly abandoned the project, leaving little progress despite receiving full payment in December 2020.
The Sources say Wabote was detained after further questioning and his travel documents seized to prevent potential evasion of justice. EFCC operatives also searched his residence in Abuja for more possible documents to aid the commission’s investigation.
