Ekiti Tells EFCC to Charge Detained Commissioner, AG to Court

Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti
As the Ekiti State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Toyin Ojo and Accountant General, Mrs. Yemisi Owolabi, who were arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are still languishing in detention, the State Executive Council, has told the agency to grant the suspects unconditional release or charge them to court.

The council at a press conference in Ado Ekiti yesterday, said the detention of the two officials was a flagrant abuse of power” and “a witch-hunt by ‘pseudo democrats’ in Abuja to diabolically incapacitate the state government.”
The state Commissioner for Information, Mr. Lanre Ogunsuyi, who addressed journalists, said the executive council after its fifth emergency meeting, said the arrest was “an aberration.

The exco claimed that the arrest of the two members of the executive
was “in violation of a subsisting ruling of a court of competent jurisdiction restraining the supposed anti-graft body from inviting or arresting officials of the state.”
It called on the EFCC to “respect the rule of law by abiding by the subsisting court ruling,” saying “the options available to EFCC was to either grant the arrested state officials administrative bail or charge them to court if they had breached the law.”

The state government alleged that it was ironic that the same EFCC had allegedly “ignored repeated earnest petitions to investigate and prosecute the accusation of wanton looting of the state” by the previous administration in the state “in spite of incontrovertible evidences.”

He described the action as “shadow chasing venture and this he said was hindering the efforts of the present administration at correcting the anomalies and making life more meaningful for the people in the state.”