Funke, estranged wife of Afrobeat star, Femi Kuti, was on Thursday afternoon, arrested in Lagos, by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an alleged N50 million fraud.
Commission’s spokesperson, Mr. Femi Baba-femi, confirmed the arrest.
Funke, daughter of Senator Brimoh Yusuf, was reportedly arrested at about 1 pm in Lagos and as of press time on Thursday being moved to Abuja for interrogation.
It was gathered that her arrest was a fallout of her alleged refusal to honour a letter from the anti-corruption commission, inviting her for interrogation over an alleged N50 million fraud committed in National Sports Lottery and Mobile Telecommunications Network.
Funke, who reportedly served as Group Head, Corporate Social Responsibility and Reputation Management of the outfit, was said to have earlier been invited to the commission’s office in Abuja to explain the circumstances surrounding the inability to provide the N50 million won by one Alhaji Tunde Ayinde Balogun, in a lottery programme handled by the outfit, but she spurned the invitation.
According to a highly-placed source in the commission, “One Alhaji Tunde Ayinde Balogun petitioned us that he won a N50 million lottery when the outfit did a promo. Investigation showed that he actually won and he was acknowledged as a winner. When it was time for him to collect his money, they {Funke’s outfit} started posting him. At a point they said he did not participate and refused to pay him. However the records of participation obtained from MTN revealed the man’s name as one of those who participated in the promo.
“So we wrote a letter to her, inviting her to Abuja for interview, trying to give her an opportunity to explain her own side of the story, but she refused to honour our invitation and that was what led to her arrest today.
***
Source: Nigerian Tribune
