The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) today, arrested former governor of Abia State, Theodore Orji.
The lawmaker representing Abia Central Senatorial District in the Senate was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, at about 10:00am today.
The arrest was confirmed by the EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, who said the former governor’s offences bordered on misappropriate of public funds and money laundering.
The EFCC official said that Orji is being investigated alongside his two sons, Ogbonna and Chinedu, the current Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, for misappropriation of 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 spokesperson disclosed that Orji has been on the commission’s watchlist and is alleged to have mismanaged N2 billion Ecological Fund and diverted the Sure-P funds.
Uwujaren added that the Senator allegedly collected N500 million as security vote for eight years as governor of the state between 2007 and 2015.
An organisation, 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.
The petition further stated that the N500 million the former governor allegedly withdrew monthly was “not part of the security funds expended on the Nigeria 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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