EFCC declares manhunt for owner of seized N448.85m discovered in Lagos shopping complex

- EFCC says it is on the trail of the owners of the N448.85m it discovered in Lagos state on Friday

- Sam Amadin, the anti-corruption agency's spokesman in Lagos, said efforts are on to contact the owners of the complex to know those that rented the affected shops

- According to Amadin, the shops had been abandoned for a very long time

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said that it is searching for the owner of N448.85million it discovered in a shopping plaza in Lagos state late on Friday, April 7.

According to The Punch, spokesman of the agency in Lagos Sam Amadin said it was trying to reach the owner of the complex with a view to knowing who rented the said shop 64.

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“The shopping plaza, from preliminary investigation, was built by estate developers. From the developers, we will get the owner of the money.

”The people around the complex know the owner of the money. The place has not been in use for a long time, the owner only sneaks into the place and keep the money. We will find the owner very soon,” Amadin said.

A statement by the Commission on Friday night after the discovery said N448.85m was recovered in a shop at the LEGICO Shopping Plaza on Victoria Island.

The statement read in part: “The shops had the signage of a Bureau de Change. Inquiries about the owner of shop 64 indicated that he had not been seen for a long time, as neighbours claimed the shop had not been opened for business for close to two years.

“The attention of the plaza’s Chairman and some traders were drawn in order to force the shops open.

“There was no money found in shop 67, but in shop 64, heaps of Ghana-Must-Go bags were found on the floor of the shop.

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“When the bags were unzipped they were found to contain bundles of Naira notes totalling N448. 85m.”

NAIJ.com recalls that, acting on a tip-off by a concerned whistleblower, operatives of the EFCC stormed the shopping complex seeking to know the owners of two shops LS 64 and LS 67.