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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been accused of coercing the former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Jumoke Akinjide, to return the N650 million that she is accused of laundering.
        The former minister, who made the allegation, is being tried alongside two Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains, Ayo Adeseun and Olanrewaju Otiti, for an alleged fraud of N650 million, The Nation reports. It was gathered that Akinjide prayed the Federal High Court in Lagos to compel the EFCC to return the money to her. Recall that the former minister was accused by the anti-graft agency of collecting the N650 million from a former minister of petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, in the build-up to the 2015 general elections. She claimed the charges against her are an abuse of court processes and prayed the court to quash them. Akinjide said that the money was actually from the fundraiser organised by the PDP to fund the re-election campaign of ex-president Goodluck Jonathan and former vice president Namadi Sambo. According to Akinjide, she handled the N650million in her capacity as the Oyo state coordinator of the Goodluck/Sambo presidential election campaign in Oyo state. She added that “the money was distributed to various groups and sub-coordinators of the PDP in Oyo State as directed by the party in order that the funds may be further distributed to party agents and other workers in the campaign organisation". Akinjide said: “No single individual received sums in excess of N5m from this political chest.”