EFCC Discovered $800m in Former Abia Governor Ikpeazu's Home? Fact Emerges

• Claims surfaced online in February that the EFCC discovered 800 million dollars cash stack at the residence of former Abia state governor, Okezie Ikpeazu
• The posters claimed that some EFCC officials stormed the ex-governor's home and recovered huge cash in foreign currency
• However, a fact-checking platform said the posts were false and did not show money found in Ikpeazu's house

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering public journalism.

Umuahia, Abia state - A viral photo claimed a pile of cash was discovered by men of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the house of the immediate past governor of Abia state, Okezie Ikpeazu.

Those circulating the claim alleged that the money found at Ikpeazu’s house amounted to 800 million dollars.

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Ikpeazu is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a two-term governor of Abia state.

The EFCC is a Nigerian law enforcement agency that investigates financial crimes such as advance fee fraud and money laundering.

The post concerning Ikpeazu was well-circulated on the social networking site, Facebook, and it included a picture of huge cash. It was also sighted in X (formerly Twitter).

One of such posts read:

“The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) discovered 800 million dollars cash stack at the home of former Abia state governor; Okezie Ikpeazu.”

Similar claims on Facebook could be found here and here.

Claims of EFCC busting Ikpeazu's home untrue

But is the claim true? A fact-cheking platform, Africa Check, investigated.

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Following its scrutiny, the platform said the photo was from a drug raid in Mexico.

It added that the photo has been online since at least 2007 and does not show piles of cash found in the home of the former Abia governor.

Furthermore, Africa Check said considering Ikpeazu's status in Nigeria, the news of such a discovery in his house would have been widely reported on media platforms.

More to read about Ikpeazu

• How I made female children eligible to inherit property in Abia, Ikpeazu opens up
• Abia guber poll: “Mention those who attempted bribing you”, Ikpeazu challenges Otti
• PDP’s gov Ikpeazu reacts to non-payment of Abia civil servants’ salaries amid end of tenure

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Source: Legit.ng