Governor Okorocha’s Aide Arrested, Detained By EFCC
OWERRI— Special Adviser to Imo State Governor on Project Monitoring, Prince Macdonald Akano, has been arrested and detained by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Vanguard investigation revealed that Akano might have been arrested in connection with the N458 million bribe saga which members of Imo State House of Assembly relied on to sack the former Deputy Governor, Sir Jude Agbaso.
It was also gathered that “the detained Governor Rochas Okorocha’s SA, the second highest shareholder in JPROS International, is now telling the operatives what he knows about the N458 million that was eventually found in two foreign accounts belonging to the company’s Managing Director, Mr. Joseph Dina, who allegedly gave Agbaso the bribe money.”
Confirming the arrest and detention of Akano in a telephone interview, Commissioner for Information, Strategy, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Chinedu Offor, expressed regret that the anti-graft agency had been keeping the governor’s aide for about 10 days without trial.
“The state government is alarmed over the arrest and continued detention of Prince Macdonald Akano by one of the Federal Government anti-graft agencies for over 10 days without trial”, Mr. Offor said.
Answering a question, the commissioner confirmed that Akano was arrested in connection with the N458 million bribery saga that led to the removal of the former deputy governor by the legislature.
Offor said: “The state government is concerned about the continued detention without trial of Prince Akano and, therefore, calls for his immediate release if no case is established against him.”
The commissioner insisted that if Akano committed any crime, he should be tried, stressing that “government is insisting that if there is absolutely no crime established against this top government official of Imo State, he should be released immediately.”
Offor described Akano’s continued detention without trial as “an infringement on his fundamental human right.
