The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) believes the source of the alleged $115 million bribe for election officials of the 2015 presidential election, came from proceeds of stolen crude oil.

According to a top agent at the commission who spoke to The Nation under the veil of anonymity, “Our operatives have discovered that the $115 million came from stolen crude oil. They got it from former Petroleum Resources Minister Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke.”

He added: “We will uncover how they came about the stolen crude oil and those used to siphon the oil in order to deny the nation of revenue.”

As part of its investigation, the EFCC has frozen the accounts of officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission as well as other figures involved in the bribery scandal.

The freezing of the accounts might be in preparation for the arraignment of the involved persons including former Fidelity Bank Managing Director, Nnamdi Okonkwo.

Former Minister of Petroleum, Alison-Madueke Diezani might also be charged to court as she is believed to be the centre of the bribe given to the electoral officials.

In the same vein, the agency also plans to arrest the owners of the oil companies fingered to have contributed in raising the funds for failing to turn up for interrogation.

“Our operatives are on the trail of members of the cartel behind the theft of crude. We have blocked all the accounts of all the INEC officials, bank officials and oil chiefs connected with the poll bribery scandal.”

The people to be tried are Diezani (in absentia), Okonkwo and Fidelity Bank’s Head of Operations, Martin Izuogbe, Mrs Khan (for collecting N185, 842,000 out of a N681million bribe); Fidelia Omoile( Electoral Officer in Isoko-South Local Government Area of Delta State)—N112,480,000 ; Uluochi Obi Brown( INEC’s Administrative Secretary in Delta State)—N111,500,000; a former Deputy Director of INEC in Cross River State, Edem Okon Effanga—N241,127,000 and the Head of Voter Education in INEC in Akwa Ibom, Immaculata Asuquo—N214,127,000.

The source further added: “Very soon, we will arraign them in court. Some of them have admitted that they shared out of the bribe sum. Having recovered more than N408.7million from some of the beneficiaries of the slush funds, we are set for trial.”

“As for the bank, it even refunded N49.7m profit made from the deal. With this, the culpability of the bank is not doubtful at all. Since we have blocked or frozen some accounts, we can recover these ill-gotten cash through court process.”