From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, yesterday, disclosed that the immediate former governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano, has been granted administrative bail by the anti-graft agency.
Bawa made the disclosure at the 5th Annual General Assembly Meeting of the Network of National Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa (NACIWA), in Abuja.
The EFCC boss explained that Obiano was, however, still in custody as he was yet to perfect his bail conditions.
He noted that there was nothing political about the ex-governor’s arrest, adding that he was cooperating to meet the bail terms.
He said: “There is nothing political about the investigation. You know what the EFCC stands for.
“We investigate crimes, we look at people who have committed crime and we link it up together, and then we go to court.
“That is all we have been doing, and that is what we will continue to do.
“We have been accused of media trials. But we will continue to do our investigation professionally.
“He has been granted bail and we are waiting for him to perfect his bail conditions and he has been cooperating with us and everything is going on well.”
Obiano was arrested, last Thursday, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, while trying to board a flight to Texas, United States, just after the inauguration ceremony of the new Anambra state Governor, Prof Chukwuemka Soludo.
The EFCC had, in November last year, placed the former governor on a watch list.
The Commission had, in a letter to the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, dated November 15, 2021, requested the Service to place the former governor on a watch list and notify it anytime he was traveling out of the country from any of the international airports and other points of entry and exit.
Obiano was arrested for misappropriating N5 billion Sure-P and N37 billion Security Vote funds, which were withdrawn in cash, of which part of the funds were allegedly diverted to sponsor political activities in the state.