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EFCC yet to release Obanikoro, former minister’s counsel discloses

Published

10 years ago

October 18, 2016

In spite of voluntarily arriving the country to clear himself, former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, is still being held in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Obanikoro arrived in the early hours of Monday, saying he returned home to unchain himself from all allegations of fraud and corruption deeds.

One Obanikoro’s legal representatives, Shuaib Alaran, disclosed that the former minister arrived EFCC office in Abuja on Mondayand had not been released as at 5:46 p.m.

“I can confirm that he has been in their custody many hours now, we have little hope that he’ll be released today,” Alaran said in a telephone interview.

He has been having a running battle with the anti-graft agency for several months on charges bordering on financial crimes.

He left for the U.S. shortly after his party lost the 2015 elections and he ceased being a minister.

The EFCC accused him of using his sons, Gbolahan and Jide, to take out government contracts that were never executed.

Obanikoro, on a separate charge, was also implicated in the Ekiti elections scandal. It is not immediately clear if would answer questions about that, too.