|
Listen to article
|
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has revealed why it arrested the immediate past Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano.
The Eastern Updates reprorts that the former governor was nabbed by the anti-graft agency on Thursday night at the Lagos International Airport, on his way out of the country.
The development came just a few hours after he handed over power to the new Governor of the State, Chukwuma Charles Soludo.
Speaking with BBC Pidgin, the Public Relations Officer of the commission, Wilson Uwajaren confirmed the arrest.
Read Also: More Troubles For Okorocha As EFCC Moves To Arraign Him
According to the commission’s spokesman, Obiano had been on the watchlist of the EFCC prior to the transition on Thursday.
He said, ‘Obiano has been on our watchlist for sometime now. He had immunity as a governor and that is why we could not arrest him before now.
‘Today he lost the immunity and was traveling out of the country before we finally arrested him’.
The anti-graft agency had in a letter to the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) dated November 15, 2021, sought the collaboration of the Service to ensure that Obiano is restrained from fleeing Nigeria after handing over, indicating readiness to arrest the Anambra governor at the end of his second tenure.
The EFCC, in the letter, urged the Nigeria Immigration Service to include Obiano in its watch-list, requesting the Service to notify the commission whenever the Anambra State governor is departing Nigeria through any international airport, or other entry and exit points in the country.
The Eastern Updates reports that the placement of Obiano on EFCC watch-list while he was still Governor presupposes that the commission may have conducted investigation on the former governor and could have detected alleged financial misappropriation indictments.
THE EASTERN UPDATES
