EFCC releases VON DG who was detained for alleged fraud

Osita Okechukwu, the Director-General of Voice of Nigeria, has been released by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission after being detained for alleged fraud.
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, a civil society organization, called on the anti-graft agency to either release Okechukwu or charge him in court.

Okechukwu was arrested on January 29, 2022, for conspiracy, abuse of office, and misappropriation of N1.3 billion in public funds, according to the report.

He had gone to the anti-graft agency’s Abuja headquarters to honor an invitation, but he was later detained.

When contacted on Saturday, the EFCC’s spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed that Okechukwu had been released. “On Monday, he was released,” Uwujaren said.

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HURIWA had previously asked the EFCC to be law-abiding and civil by immediately releasing Okechukwu in a statement.
‘HURIWA Asks EFCC to Release Chief Osita Okechukwu or Charge Him to Court Immediately,’ said the group’s National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, in a statement.

“Detaining Osita Okechukwu arbitrarily and indefinitely violates Constitutional provision in Section 34, which gives him the right to respect her human dignity,” the statement said.

“Release Okechukwu or produce him in a competent court of law to prosecute him legally because Nigeria is not a banana republic,” the group said.