The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has arrested the Speaker, Abia State House of Assembly, Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji, for alleged misappropriation of public funds and money laundering.
It was gathered that the Speaker has been under investigation by the anti-graft agency for months now but he turned in himself when he learnt of his father’s arrest.
Meanwhile, the former governor of the state and father to the Speaker, Theodore Orji, was first arrested at the Nnamdi International Airport in Abuja, on Thursday August 19th 2021, around 10:00am and driven to the EFCC’s headquarters.
The elsewhere governor was alleged to have received N50 million monthly between 2007 and 2015, as security vote during his eight years as governor of Abia State.
Other charges levelled against him included alleged mismanagement of the N2 billion Ecological Fund and Sure-P funds.
Wilson Uwujaren, spokesman for the EFCC, confirmed the detention of the former governor and his son.
Mr Orji and his son were interrogated by the EFCC in February 2020 over allegations that they diverted N521 billion in public funds.
The investigation was prompted by a petition filed by a body known as Fight Corruption: Save Nigeria Group on March 17, 2017.
Mr Orji was accused by the petitioners of diverting “N383 billion from the Federation Account, N55 billion from excess crude, N2.3 billion from Sure-P, N1.8 billion from ecological funds, N10.5 billion from a loan, N12 billion from a Paris Club refund, N2 billion from an agricultural loan, and N55 billion from ASOPADEC money while in office.”
According to the petition, the N500 million that the former governor allegedly withdrew every month was “not part of the security funds expended on the Nigerian Police, Nigerian Army, DSS, Navy anti-kidnapping squad, anti-robbery squad, purchase of security equipment and vehicles for the security agencies”.
