wasn't true...
A former Governor of Akwa Ibom State and Senate
Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio has been arrested
by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,
EFCC.
Premium Times reports that he was taken in by
EFCC operatives at about 5.20 pm on Friday.
A few aides and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN,
Ricky Tarfa, accompanied him.
The EFCC had begun investigation into alleged theft
of N108.1billion of Akwa Ibom funds by the former
governor in June.
The action followed a petition forwarded to the
commission by an Abuja-based lawyer and activist,
Leo Ekpenyong.
Ekpenyong had on June 8 petitioned President
Muhammadu Buhari and the EFCC, calling for
Akpabio's probe and accusing him of looting Akwa
Ibom state treasury.
Several other indigenes of the state demanding the
investigation of the former governor were also said
to have been invited by the EFCC for questioning.
In a new petition to the EFCC dated June 22, and
copied to President Muhammadu Buhari and the
Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, Mr.
Ekpenyong gave details of some of Mr. Akpabio's
alleged financial recklessness.
He alleged that between January and December
2014, the ex-governor colluded with two of his top
aides to steal a whopping N108.1 billion from the
state's treasury.
Mr. Ekpenyong told the EFCC that the former
Government House Permanent Secretary, Etekamba
Umoren, and the former Accountant General of the
state, Udo Isobara, colluded with Mr. Akpabio to
steal the funds.
"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," he stated in the petition.
"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withdrawn fraudulently from the state FAAC account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 said Umoren was rewarded with an
appointment as Government House chief of staff
and now secretary to the state government under
Udom Emmanuel's administration.
The legal practitioner further alleged that over N50
billion of Akwa Ibom funds were spent by the
former governor during the last general elections.
He further acussed Akpabio of withdrawing N18
billion from the state coffers under the guise of
special services, reception of very important guests
and sundry items.
"The cumulative aggregate of these monies stolen
by Godswill Akpabio from the coffers of government
as pocket money is the annual budget of some
states in Nigeria put together," the petition reads.
He listed the bouquet of assets acquired by the
former governor through surrogates to include 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.
Others include a multi-billion naira mansionette at
Plot 23 Olusegun Aina Street, Parkview, Lagos and
a multi-billion naira 25 storey building at Akin
Adesola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
