BREAKING: EFCC Arrests Senator Akpabio Over Fraud

 

The Akwa Ibom state former governor who is currently the Senate

minority leader in the 8th Senate, Godswill Akpabio, was at about

5pm on Friday, October 16, arrested by the Economic and Financial

Crimes Commission (EFCC), Premium Times reports.

Akpabio

He was said to have been accompanied by a few aides and a Senior

Advocate of Nigeria, Ricky Tarfa.

However, the former governor’s aide who is on the basis of

anonymity that the senator is currently being interrogated by top

officials of the EFCC.

A source at the EFCC confirmed the development of Senator

Akpabio’s arrest.

He said: “He was brought in at about 5.20 pm accompanied by a few

aides and Mr. Rickey Tarfa.

“It is not yet known whether he will be allowed to go this night. It

depends on how the interrogation goes.”

There had been a petition forwarded to the ant-graft commission

and President Muhammadu buhari in June by an Abuja-based

lawyer and activist, Leo Ekpenyong, over an alleged theft of

N108.1billion of Akwa Ibom funds where the senator was a

governor.

As a result of the petition, the crimes commission had swung into

action to investigate the matter.

According to Premium Times report, several other indigenes of the

state who have been demanding the investigation of the former

governor, were invited by the EFCC to adopt their petitions.

The invitation did not exclude Ekpenyong, the key petitioner as he

too was summoned to adopt his claim.

The lawyer disclosed that between January and December 2014, the

ex-governor colluded with the former government house permanent

secretary, Etekamba Umoren, and the former accountant general of

the state to steal a whopping N108.1 billion from the state’s

treasury.

He said in the petition: “Between January – December 2014, it is on

record that the trio of Godswill Akpabio, Mr Etekamba Umoren and Mr

Udo Isobara, made illegal but substantial withdrawals of cash from a

designated state government-owned account with Zenith Bank with

account number: 1010375881 amounting to N22.1 billion.

“It is worthy of note that reasons for such ungodly cash withdrawals

against financial regulations and due process laws range between

sundry use and unjustifiable expenditures by Godswill Akpabio and his

numerous surrogates and proxies.

“For example, a whopping N18 billion was withdrawn fraudulently from

the state FAAC account with the United Bank for Africa in trenches of

N10 million and above by Mr Isobara in a surreptitious manner to

conceal their dishonest intention.”

Ekpenyong accused Umoren of having been rewarded with an

appointment as government house chief of staff and now secretary

to the state government under Udom Emmanuel’s administration

owing to his assistance in the alleged stealing.

The legal luminary also accused the former governor of several

other fraudulent practices ranging from another withdrawal of N18

billion to the acquisition of a multi-billion naira mansion at Plot 5

Okogosi Spring Close, off Katsina-Ala Crescent, Maitama-Abuja, a

multi-billion naira mansionette at Plot 28 Colorado Close, Maitama,

Abuja and another multi-billion naira mansion at 22 Probyn Road,

Ikoyi, Lagos.

However, the commissioner of information during the Akpabio’s

administration, Aniekan Umana, described the contents of the

petition by Mr. Ekpenyong as falsehood taken too far.

Noting that the petition betrayed a lack of understanding of the

workings of government, the former commissioner said: “Every sum

withdrawn from a government account is tied to a subhead and there

must be a budgetary provision. To attribute fraud to withdrawals which

had the full sanction of government and was accommodated in the

budget is strange, mischievous and untenable. More so, when one

understands that there are checks and balances which guide all aspects

of government financial administration.”