Although the law must take its course against anybody, no matter how highly placed or influential, the reopening – by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) – of Senator Rochas Okorocha’s alleged corruption case on Monday, the same day he declared his intention to run for the Presidency of the country, has not been well with many, thereby vindicating those who blame his travails with the anti-corruption agency on politics of vendetta by the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma.
Okorocha, on Monday formally declared his intention to contest for the Presidency of the country in the 2023 general elections, even as he noted that the agitation of secession being championed by the terrorist group Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB) runs contrary to the stance of the Igbo people, who he said will not leave Nigeria.
However, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed a 17-count charge to the tune of N2.9 billion against a former governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha.
Okorocha, in the charges filed on Monday at the Federal High Court in Abuja, was accused of conspiring with others, including a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and five companies to steal from public coffers.
Others listed as respondents to the suit are Anyim Nyerere Chinenye, Naphtali International Limited, Perfect Finish Multi Projects Limited, Consolid Projects Consulting Limited, Pramif International Limited, and Legend World Concepts Limited.
The charges were filed about the same time Senator Okorocha was declaring his intention to run for the office of the president in 2023.
His co-accused, Nyerere, according to sources, is the APC governorship candidate in Abia State during the 2015 elections and currently serves as a commissioner at the National Pension Commission.
The accused persons were alleged to have stolen the said amount belonging to Imo State and local government areas in the state in contravention of the Money Laundering Act 2011.
The charges claimed that the stolen funds were diverted between October 2014 and February 2016 from the Imo State Government House’s account and Imo State Joint Local Government Project’s account.
Reports also revealed that Nyerere remains the Director of Consolid Projects Consulting Limited, Pramif International Limited, and Legend World Concepts Limited, even as he holds a public office – potentially breaching the nation’s Code of Conduct laws.
The timeline of the alleged diversions is highlighted below:
February 11, 2014: N67,500,000 – conspiracy between Mr Okorocha, Mr Nyerere, and Perfect Finish Multi Projects Limited
August 28, 2014: N486,000,000 – conspiracy between Mr Okorocha, Mr Nyerere, and Perfect Finish Multi Projects Limited
October 14, 2014: N900,000,000 – conspiracy between Mr Okorocha, Mr Nyerere, and Naphtali International Limited
August 4, 2015: N279,000,000 – conspiracy between Mr Okorocha, Mr Nyerere, and Naphtali International Limited
February 10, 2016: N243,000,000 – conspiracy between Mr Okorocha, Mr Nyerere, and Consolid Projects Consulting Limited
February 10, 2016: N200,000,000 – conspiracy between Mr Okorocha, Mr Nyerere, and Consolid Projects Consulting Limited
February 10, 2016: N243,000,000 – conspiracy between Mr Okorocha, Mr Nyerere, and Pramif International Limited
February 11, 2016: N243,000,000 – conspiracy between Mr Okorocha, Mr Nyerere, and Perfect Finish Multi Projects Limited
February 12, 2016: N243,000,000 – conspiracy between Mr Okorocha, Mr Nyerere, and Legend World Concepts Limited.
