By Martin Cole-
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested a former Nigerian governor of Abia State, Theodore Orji,(pictured) over alleged money laundering of N500bn, the equivalent of £890m.
The ex-governor was intercepted at the Nnamdi International Airport, Abuja, at about 10am, on Thursday and driven to the headquarters of the EFCC in Abuja.
The Eye Of Media.Com heard the state senator is currently being quizzed alongside his son, Chinedu, the current Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, after the latter turned himself in this afternoon upon learning of the arrest of his father.
The scale of the fraud is shocking, but does not break records for Nigerian politicians, notorious for corruption in a country where a high percentage of its population are living on an equivalent of £1 a day.
The pair are both being detained over alleged fraud of over N500billion.
The EFCC had in February 2020 interrogated Mr Orji and his son over allegations that they diverted N521 billion public funds.
The investigation followed a petition dated March 17, 2017, filed by a group, Fight Corruption: Save Nigeria Group.
EFCC’s spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren confirmed that Orji is still with the commission and is being grilled over allegation of fraud.
The petitioners had accused Mr Orji of diverting ”N383 billion revenue(£68m) from the Federation Account, N55 billion(£98m) Excess Crude revenue, N2.3 billion Sure-P revenue, (£4m)N1.8 billion ecological funds, N10.5 billion loan,(19m) N12 billion(£4.6m) Paris Club refund, N2 billion agricultural loan, and N55 billion ASOPADEC money while in office.”
According to the petition, the N500 million the former governor allegedly withdrew monthly was “not part of the security funds expended on the Nigerian Police, the Nigerian Army, DSS, Navy anti-Kidnapping Squad, anti-robbery Squad, purchase of Security equipment and vehicles for the security agencies.”
The petitioners also accused Mr Orji’s son, Chinedu, of owning about 100 accounts in different banks. He is also accused of alleged mismanagement of N2billion Ecological Fund and mismanagement of Sure-P funds.
The petitions alleged that the accounts which run both as corporate and Individual received ”so much deposit in cash without evidence of job or services rendered.”
Orji, a current senator, and his sons, Chinedu and Ogbonna, have been under EFCC investigation for alleged misappropriation of public funds and money laundering for months.
The ex-governor is alleged to have received N500million (890m)monthly as security vote for eight years as governor of Abia between 2007 and 2015.
He is also accused of alleged mismanagement of N2billion Ecological Fund and mismanagement of Sure-P funds.
The EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the detention of the former governor and his Speaker son. Uwujaren, however, declined further comments.
The EFCC had in February 2020 interrogated Orji and his son over allegations that they diverted N521billion public funds.
The investigation followed a petition dated March 17, 2017, filed by a group, Fight Corruption: Save Nigeria Group.
According to the petition, the N500 million the former governor allegedly withdrew monthly was “not part of the security funds expended on the Nigerian Police, the Nigerian Army, DSS, Navy anti-Kidnapping Squad, anti-robbery Squad, purchase of Security equipment and vehicles for the security agencies.
It is not the first time, Nigerian politicians have been entangled in serious allegations of fraud. In 2019, the FBI rounded up 77 Nigerians for attempting to launder millions of dollars through a variety of fraud schemes and launder the funds through a Los Angeles-based money laundering network as uncovered by the FBI.
Former lawyer Bhadresh Gohill was jailed for 10 years for his role in assisting the money laundering of James Ibori-former governor of Delta State between 199 and 2007. The Uk government attempted to recover £ 38m he stole.
Ibori had used stolen funds through shell companies and offshore accounts to buy assets such as an English country house and a $20 million private jet – although police caught up with the men before the jet was delivered.
Jailed former governor of Delta State: James Ibori Image:Punching.com
The indictment was unsealed after law enforcement authorities, led by the FBI, Thursday morning arrested 14 defendants across the United States, with 11 of those arrests taking place in the Los Angeles region.
Image:punching.com