An anti-graft agency, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission(ICPC) has reportedly effected the arrest of the acting Director-General (DG) of the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Professor Alex Akpa, for allegedly defrauding the federal government to the tune of N400 million.
A statement signed by the ICPC spokesperson, Azuka Ogugua, the commission disclosed that it is also investigating professor Akpa for other alleged offences ranging from official misconduct, abuse of office and related matters.
According to the ICPC, Professor Akpa, a professor of microbiology, was arrested by operatives of the commission following a petition and reported case of alleged misappropriation of funds at the NABDA.
The ICPC spokesperson noted that investigations so far indicate that the funds in question which the acting DG, Prof Akpa said were intervention funds for the biotechnology agency, were alleged to have been illicitly diverted into private accounts and deployed for inappropriate use under his very watch.
According to the ICPC this action is a punishable offence as it amounts to serious breach of sections 19 and 26 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
Professor Akpa, who is a widely known professor of Microbiology is a Fellow of the World Health Organisation (FWHO); Fellow of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (FRSTMH) and a Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Administration of Nigeria (FCAI).
Recall that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission(ICPC) was set up during the administration of former president Olusegun Obasanjo on 29 September 2000 to address issues of corrupt practices and related offences.
