N1.4bn Fraud: EFCC To Quiz Akwa Ibom Ex-AG

Barring any last minute change, former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Akwa Ibom State, Mr Uwemedimo Nwoko SAN, will appear before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) tomorrow, Monday.

A source close to the EFCC, disclosed that Nwoko, who served in the Governor Udom Emmanuel administration, would make an appearance before the Commission by 12 noon for interrogation over his alleged involvement in a N1.4 billion money laundering offence.

The former Commissioner for Justice was arrested by EFCC operatives, last Tuesday, in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, in respect of the pending case of money laundering charges against a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Paul Usoro, since 2018.

The EFCC had, in a case before an Abuja Federal High Court, in 2018, fingered Nwoko as an accomplice, alleging that he, along with some other former officials of the Akwa Ibom State government, connived with Usoro to launder the said N1.4 billion.

The Commission alleged that Usoro and others conspired with others to convert N1.4 billion belonging to Akwa Ibom State government, which sum they reasonably ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of some alleged unlawful activities.

The anti-graft body, in March 2019, re-arraigned the former commissioner on a 10-count charge of the N1.4 billion fraud with the other accomplices said to still be at large.

Apart from Nwoko, others mentioned in the case were the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Finance, Nsikan Nkan, the state Accountant-General, Mfon Udomah and Margaret Ukpe.

Last February, the EFCC closed its case against the former Attorney General after calling Idongesit Udom, a deputy manager at Zenith Bank, as its first witness and Abdulrahman Arabo, the investigating officer, as its second and final witness.

After discharging the witness and closing its case, the defendant, through his counsel, Effiong Effiong, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, told the court of the defendant’s intention to file a ‘no case’ submission.