Ikoyi Cash: Only One Whistle-blower Will Be Rewarded, Adeosun Says

Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, says only one whistler-blower will be paid the N421,330,595 as reward for the recovered money from Flat 7, Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Adeosun made this know while speaking with State House Correspondents shortly after the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting in Aso Rock, Abuja.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had in April recovered the sum of N13 billion from the Ikoyi residence, based on information made available by a whistleblower.

As part of the Whistle-blower policy, the Federal Government says it will pay 2.5-5% of any recovered money made possible by information from a whistle-blower.

However, following the recovery, no fewer than four people have claimed to have informed the EFCC on the information which led to the discovery of huge sum.

One Abdulmunmini Musa had on Monday, filed a suit against the Federal Government over failure to pay the promised percentage of the discovery.

Reacting today, Adeosun said the government will only pay the informant that signed the agreement that led to the recovery of the stash.

The minister said the N421 million “is ready for payment”.

She 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.”