Former Anambra State Governor, Mr. Willie Obiano, faced a nine-count charge of alleged fraud before Justice Inyang Ekwo at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday. The charges, brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), encompass multiple fraudulent activities.
The EFCC specifically accused Obiano of orchestrating the fraudulent transfer of N156,800,000 from the Anambra State Government Security Vote. The funds were purportedly transferred through his then principal private secretary, Willie Nwokoye, to a company named C.I. Patty Ventures Nigeria Limited. Importantly, the said company had no discernible business relationship with the Anambra State Government.
The charges assert that this action violates Section 15 (2) (b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) in 2012, and is punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act.
Upon the reading of the charges, Obiano, who served as governor from March 2014 to March 2022, entered a plea of not guilty.
His arrest by EFCC operatives on March 16, 2022, occurred shortly after he handed over the reins of governance to his successor, Charles Soludo, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. The legal proceedings mark a significant development in the ongoing investigations into financial activities during Obiano’s tenure as governor.
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