The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said that the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, specifically directed them to ensure that Senator Rochas Okorocha’s prosecution is brought to a logical conclusion.
The EFCC stated this in a counter affidavit filed on November 18 and deposed to by Iyabo Daramola, the agency’s senior legal officer, and filed before Justice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court (FHC) Abuja.
The anti-graft agency prayed the court to dismiss Okorocha’s application where he claimed that the agency’s money laundering charges preferred against him were baseless.
The EFCC alleged that sometime in 2019, it received various intelligence reports from members of the public that Okorocha, a former of Imo State, connived with the then acting accountant general of Imo, the pay officer, the cashier and others, to illegally withdraw the sum of N1 billion and N8 million from the coffers of the state government for the purpose of funding the governorship and state House of Assembly’s election in Imo among other allegations.
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It also said inter alia that its preliminary findings showed that between 2014 and 2018, the aggregate sum of N1 billion and over N8 million was transferred from the local government account of the state under the guise of mobilisation for building of 28 hospitals across every local government in the state through different companies, including Bureau De Change to a company which provided lease of Learjet 45XR Aircraft for the personal use of the former governor.
The EFCC said it did not violate any known law by carrying out an investigation into the activities of Okorocha as the former governor of Imo.
Justice Ekwo, who directed all parties to regularise their processes before the next adjourned date, fixed November 25 for hearing of the preliminary objection.
Okorocha, who is the 1st defendant, was arraigned alongside Anyim Nyerere Chinenye, Naphtali International Limited, Perfect Finish Multi Projects Limited, Consolid Projects Consulting Limited, Pramif International Limited, and Legend World Concepts Limited as 2nd to 7th defendants respectively.