On Thursday 19th August 2021, The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested a former governor of Abia State, Senator Theodore Orji.
Anaedoonline.ng reports that Orji, the lawmaker representing Abia Central Senatorial District in the Senate, was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Thursday morning.
Confirming the lawmaker’s arrest, EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, said Orji was arrested for offenses bordering on misappropriation of public funds and money laundering.
Uwujaren stated that the former governor is being probed alongside his sons, Ogbonna and Chinedu, the current Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, for misappropriation of the state funds while in office.
He added that the former governor was transported to the headquarters of the EFCC at Jabi, Abuja for the continuation of his interrogation.
The EFCC spokesman disclosed that Orji, who has been on the commission’s watch list, is alleged to have mismanaged the N2billion Ecological Fund and conversion of Sure-P funds.
He added that the Senator allegedly collected N500million monthly as a security vote for eight years as governor of Abia State between 2007 and 2015.
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Recall that a group, Fight Corruption: Save Nigeria Group had petitioned the EFCC alleging that Orji diverted ”N383 billion revenue from the Federation Account, N55 billion Excess Crude revenue, N2.3 billion Sure-P revenue, N1.8 billion ecological funds, N10.5 billion loan, N12 billion 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.”
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The petitioners also accused Orji’s son, Chinedu, of owning about 100 accounts in different banks.
They alleged that the accounts which run both as corporate and Individual received ”so much deposit in cash without evidence of job or services rendered.”
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