By Ayomide Joseph
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has taken former Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, to court over alleged money laundering amounting to N4,008,573,350.
The ex-governor is set to face nine counts charges in a trial led by EFCC’s lead counsel, Slyvanus Tahir, SAN, alongside eight other lawyers. The arraignment is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, January 24, before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
This development follows the recent commitment by the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, to revisit abandoned high-profile cases, particularly those involving former Governors and Ministers.
An undisclosed source revealed to Punch Newspaper that the charges stem from Obiano’s alleged movement of N4,008,573,350 from security votes into various accounts.
The funds were purportedly converted into dollars and returned to Obiano in cash at different times.
Among the charges brought against Obiano are allegations of indirect transfers of significant sums from the Anambra State Government Security Vote Account into unrelated entities. One such charge states that between February 7, 2018, and February 18, 2019, the ex-governor allegedly transferred N156,800.00 through his then principal private secretary, Mr. Willie Nwokoye, to the Fidelity Bank Ple Account No: 6060018819 belonging to C.I. Patty Ventures Nigeria Limited.
Another charge accuses Obiano of transferring N261,268,585.00 between August 9, 2017, and March 4, 2020, to Easy Diamond Integrated Link through the same channel. Both transactions are alleged to be unrelated to the security affairs of Anambra State, constituting offenses under the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended).
When contacted, EFCC’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, confirmed that Obiano would be arraigned on Wednesday. The former governor had been arrested on March 17, 2022, at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Lagos, as he prepared to board a flight to the United States of America. His arrest occurred hours after leaving office, losing his immunity from arrest and prosecution. The EFCC had accused Obiano of misappropriating public funds, including N5 billion Sure-P and N37 billion security vote, some of which were allegedly diverted for political activities in the state.
Recall that the former Anambra Governor was in 2022 arrested by the EFCC at the Lagos airport at about 8 pm, while he was trying to flee Nigeria to Houston Texas in the USA shortly after completing his tenure as the state governor.
The former governor was said to have been arrested by eagle-eyed operatives of the EFCC while trying to escape Nigeria for Houston in the United States of America on Thursday night.
He was said to be on the watchlist of the anti-graft agency before he was eventually arrested.
