The immediate past governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano, on Thursday, was arrested on suspicion of fraud at the Lagos airport, a few hours after he handed over to Governor Charles Soludo.
Reports said the former governor has been under the radar of the anti-graft agency for a while.
His arrest came hours after Obiano concluded his two terms of eight years as Anambra governor.
An official familiar with the matter disclosed that Obiano was arrested on his way to Houston, Texas, United States of America, Thursday night.
However, it was not immediately clear where he was taken to after the arrest.
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Information gathered showed that the EFCC had requested the Nigeria Immigration Service to inform it anytime the governor was travelling out of the country from any of the international airports, as well as other points of entry and exit.
Details of reasons the former governor was placed on a watchlist of the anti-graft agency are not yet disclosed.
However, newsheadline247 gathered that the move was a confirmation that the agency may have been discreetly investigating the former governor and possibly had intelligence that he was planning to escape after handing over power to his successor, Professor Charles Soludo, on March 16, 2022.
The former Anambra State Commissioner for Information, Don Adinuba, had, at the time of the suspicion, condemned the EFCC watchlist reports, claiming that they were politically motivated, according to the Vanguard newspaper.
“Governor Obiano has a whole four months to remain in office as the Anambra State chief executive,” Adinuba said. “Nobody in Nigeria can circumscribe his constitutionally conferred immunity which shields him from both criminal and civil prosecution.
However, he is yet to make any official statement regarding the arrest of his boss.
Also, a previous report by The Gazette had revealed how Mr Obiano looted Anambra coffers based on state financial records, including N4 billion on the same day.
