Barely 18 hours after former governor of Akwa Ibom State and current Minority Leader of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, was released by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the anti-graft agency has again detained him.
Akpabio is facing allegations of corrupt enrichment as governor. He was grilled for hours on Friday after which he was allowed to go home.
The former governor who later spoke with journalists said he was not scared because his hands are clean.
He confirmed that a young lawyer “from my state has been petitioning the EFCC accusing me of corruption. So shortly before I got involved in an accident in August, the EFCC summoned me to come and respond to the allegations.
“But following the accident, I wasn’t well enough to honour the EFCC summon. And I let them know. So today, since I’m now well, and the Senate did not sit, I decided to honour the EFCC so as to answer questions concerning the allegations against me.”
He said he was not arrested.
“I walked in there myself and now I’m back at home. The EFCC operatives were professional. They asked questions, and I answered,” he added.
But just close to noon on Saturday, the senator was again summoned by the EFCC.
He appeared with his counsel, Rickey Tarfa and some of his aides.
Upon getting to the office of the anti-graft agency, he was immediately escorted into an interrogation room while his aides and Tarfa were barred from following him.
It is not known if he would again be allowed to go home, but he was still being grilled at the time of this report.
Akpabio had hinted in the interview on Friday night that he could return to the EFCC to answer to more questions since the petitioner wrote at least four different petitions against him.
