Willie Obiano is picked up by the EFCC at Lagos Airport.

Willie Obiano, the immediate past Governor of Anambra State, was arrested on Thursday at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Obiano, who was on the EFCC’s watch list, was apprehended while attempting to board a flight to the United States, according to reports.

In a letter to the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service dated November 15, 2021, the commission requested that Obiano be placed on a watch list and that he notify the commission whenever he travels out of the country from any of the international airports and other points of entry and exit.

Don Adinuba, the state Commissioner for Information, had dared the EFCC, insisting that his boss would return to the United States after leaving office.

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Obiano, however, was reported to have traveled to Lagos and then to the international airport just hours after handing over to his successor, Prof. Charles Soludo.

When immigration officers saw him at 8.30 p.m., they reported him to the EFCC, who arrested him and took him to their office.

Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, the EFCC’s spokesman, confirmed the former governor’s arrest over the phone, promising to provide more details later.

“It is correct. “Around 8.30 p.m., he was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport,” Uwujaren said.

Obiano was arrested, according to our sources, for allegedly mismanaging the N17 billion Paris Club refund and security vote.

He’s also being investigated for a number of shady projects, including the inflated cost of the Umueri International Airport.

As part of the reimbursement for the over-deduction on the Paris Club loan in December 2016, the Federal Government distributed N388.3 billion to the 36 states and the Federal Capital.

Seven states received more than N14 billion, four received more than N13 billion, two received more than N11 billion, and five more received more than N10 billion, while the remaining 11 states received less than N10 billion each.

The state of Anambra was said to have received N11.3 billion.

Due to First Line Charge deductions from Federation Account Allocation Committee allocations, state governments had submitted claims to the federal government for over-deductions for external debt service incurred between 1995 and 2002.