Obiano in EFCC custody — hours after leaving office as Anambra governor

March 17, 2022 11:35 pm

Willie Obiano, former governor of Anambra state

Willie Obiano, immediate past governor of Anambra, is currently in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Wilson Uwujaren, spokesman of the anti-graft agency, confirmed the development to TheCable on Thursday night.

Obiano, who ended his tenure on Wednesday, was taken into custody hours after he attended the inauguration of Chukuwuma Soludo as governor of Anambra.

He was reportedly arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

The development comes months after the former governor was placed on the EFCC watch list.

According to a letter dated November 15, 2021 and addressed to the comptroller-general of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the anti-graft agency had asked to be informed whenever Obiano is seen attempting to travel out of the country.

While details of why Obiano is currently in EFCC’s custody remain sketchy, at the time of his being placed on the watch list, he was said to have been under investigation over allegations of fraud.

In September 2021, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra had asked the anti-graft agency to probe the finances of the state in order to unearth “monumental deception”.

Basil Ejidike, Anambra APC chairman, had alleged that Obiano was “fraudulently” using the state’s security vote.

But reacting to the development, Don Adinuba, the state commissioner for information at the time, said the issue between the governor and the EFCC is masterminded by persons in high places who “unsuccessfully canvassed for emergency rule” in the state during the build-up to the November 2021 governorship election.