EFCC Arrest Senator Godswill Akpabio Over Allegation Of Fraud.

A former Governor of Akwa Ibom State and incumbent Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, was on Friday arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

An aide to the former governor, who cannot be named because he is not authorised to speak on the matter told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr. Akpabio is currently being interrogated by top officials of the EFCC.

An EFCC source confirmed the development.

“He was brought in at about 5.20 pm accompanied by a few aides and Mr. Rickey Tarfa,” the source said.

“It is not yet known whether he will be allowed to go this night. It depends on how the interrogation goes.”

The spokesperson for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, did not answer or return calls seeking comment for this story.

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.

Mr. Ekpenyong had on June 8 petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari and the EFCC, calling for Mr. Akpabio’s probe and accusing him of looting Akwa Ibom state treasury.

In a new petition to the EFCC dated June 22, and copied to Mr. 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“For example, a whopping N18 billion was withdrawn fraudulently from the state FAAC account with the United Bank for Africa in trenches of N10 million and above by Mr.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.”

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