Court stops EFCC from arraigning Okorocha for alleged N2.9bn fraud

On Tuesday, Justice Stephen Pam of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, restrained the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from investigating or prosecuting Rochas Okorocha, the former governor of Imo State.

The commission had filed a 17-count fraud charge against the Imo West senator at the Federal High Court in Abuja on January 31.

Okorocha, a member of the All Progressive Congress (APC), and five companies were accused by the commission of conspiring to steal N2.9 billion from the Imo State government.

The judge ordered the EFCC to wait until the outcome of another case in court before taking any further action against the ex-governor during Tuesday’s proceedings.
He asked the commission to release Okorocha’s passport and any other travel documents it had in its possession, and he restrained the anti-graft agency from investigating or taking any other action against him.

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In an application filed by his lawyer, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), the ex-governor asked the court to enforce some orders made in his favor in a previous case with the EFCC.

The orders, according to Olanipekun, were based on a case brought before the judge in which the EFCC interrogated the ex-governor and claimed he mismanaged N5.7 billion belonging to the Imo State government without inviting him to an investigation.

He chastised the commission for bringing new charges against the senator based on the same investigation that had been quashed by the court the year before.