Chidi Samuel || The federal government will pay only one whistleblower the finder’s percentage from the N13 billion recovered from a flat in Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos earlier in the year, according to Kemi Adeosun, Nigeria’s minister of finance.
Adeosun said on Wednesday at the end of the federal executive council (FEC) meeting that the total amount involved is N421,330,595, adding that “it is ready for payment”.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had recovered over N13 billion based on information provided by a whistleblower.
So far about four individuals have filed suit against the government laying claim to the 2.5-5% of the recovered money.
Answering questions from Journalists on the development, the minister explained that the government will only pay the informant that signed the agreement that led to the recovery of the stash.
Adeosun said: “The only condition necessary is that the money will be paid to the whistleblower who signed the agreement. Not to any company.
“If we get the court judgement, we have to wait for three months to ensure that there are no encumbrances. We also [have to] make sure that all applicable taxes are paid ahead.
“We [will] get in touch with the state government where the person is domiciled. We [will] pay the tax directly to the state and issue the tax receipt. So we built in these procedures to protect the whistleblower.”
