After a long siege at the Abuja residency of former Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State on Tuesday, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday.
The siege lasted for about seven hours, while Okorocha and his family members were holed up in the heavily fortified house.
As the Senator and his supporters continued to resist the attempts by the EFCC officials to gain entry into the house, the operatives had to break into the house through the ceiling.
Okorocha is not a stranger to constant arrests by the EFCC, especially since the end of his governorship of Imo State in 2019.
The anti-graft agency through a statement by its spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, explained that it had to arrest Okorocha because he had to face trial on May 30 and the judge had threatened to strike out the case if the former governor was not brought to court.
According to the statement, “Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on May 24, 2022, arrived at the Maitama, Abuja home of a former governor of Imo state, Senator Rochas Okorocha, to effect his arrest.
“The move followed the refusal of the former governor to honour invitations after jumping the administrative bail earlier granted him by the Commission.
“The EFCC, had on January 24, 2022 filed a 17-count criminal charge bordering on diversion of public funds and properties to the tune of N2.9bn against Okorocha.
“The case was assigned to Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja but attempts to arraign Senator Okorocha were twice stalled owing to the absence of the ex-governor who evaded service of processes.
“At the last adjourned date, March 28, 2022, Justice Ekwo before adjourning until May 30, 2022, had warned that it was ‘the last adjournment I shall grant in this matter’. In the circumstances, the commission is left with no option but to arrest Senator Okorocha and bring him to trial.”
While the siege lasted, Okorocha and his supporters tried to present it as a political witch hunt on him. He is one of the presidential aspirants of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
“‘Frankly speaking, the situation I find myself in is what I call holding a person hostage. Policemen and EFCC operatives are currently in my compound to possibly whisk me away. All I am asking for now is to allow me to go for my screening because I am a presidential aspirant and our election comes up on Sunday. If I am not allowed to go for this screening, I might miss it.
‘’I am not an unknown person in the country. I have an address and people know me in the country. All that it takes for the EFCC is to send me an invitation and I will gladly oblige,” Okorocha said.
At some point, while the EFCC agents were making progress breaking into the house, Okorocha could be seen in a video saying: “The EFCC operatives are here with some gunmen and they have broken all my bulletproof doors. This may be my last appearance because I don’t know what they want to do”.
