Boco Edet
26 September 2008
The Accountant General (AG) of Ondo State, Folake Ogunnika was arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), yesterday over moves by the State Government to pay N1 billion unsecured loan to political appointees in the state.
A source at the EFCC told Daily Trust, operatives of the commission were deployed to Ondo to arrest the AG.
"Some of our operatives have gone to pick her up from Ondo to Abuja where she will be detained and quizzed," the source said.
Ogunnika's arrest is connected to a petition forwarded to the EFCC hinting the anti-graft agency of plans by the Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Kokumo Agagu, to cart enormous money out of the state.
The EFCC Director of Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Babafemi, confirmed the arrest of Ogunnika also in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday.
Babafemi said that huge amounts of money, running into billions of Naira, had been withdrawn from the state's treasury through the office of the Accountant-General.
"This time around, Ogunnika has been arrested by the Commission. She is not on routine invitation.
"She is also being arrested by the Commission for various financial impropriety," Babafemi said.
In his reaction, Mr Yemi Olowolabi, the Chief Press Secretary to Gov. Olusegun Agagu, said "there is no big deal in Ogunnika's invitation by the EFCC because the commission is just doing its normal routine job".
According to him, when a petition is written against any public officer, the EFCC is obliged to invite such officer for questioning to know the veracity of the petitioner's claims.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) also received a similar petition by one Oladele Yusuf, requesting the Commission to embark on a pro-active measure by restraining the State Governor from paying the unsecured loan.
Following the verdict of the elections petition tribunal in Ondo in July which nullified the elections, Agagu took the case to the Appeal Court.
The petitioner insinuated that the State Government was concluding plans to siphon money from the state treasury before the judgement.
Agagu and some members of his cabinet are already being investigated by the EFCC and ICPC over cases of conspiracy, abuse of office and diversion of public funds for personal use.
Severally, some commissioners and permanent secretaries have been quizzed by the EFCC and ICPC operatives over alleged diversion of N12.5 billion from the state's treasury into secret accounts.
EFCC's Spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, confirmed the arrest of the Accountant General.
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