…in connection with fraud related to Mambilla project
A former Minister of Power and Steel, Olu Agunloye, has been reportedly arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka revealed this in a statement titled “In pursuit of justice, productivity, under the rule of law,” on Monday. The ex-minister was recently declared wanted by the anti-graft agency over allegations of corruption in the $6 billion Mambilla hydropower contract. Soyinka confirmed that Agunloye issued a statement on his visibility and readiness to comply with the agency after he was declared wanted.
The former minister appeared at the EFCC office in Abuja the following day and was promptly arrested and detained. According to Soyinka, the head of the EFCC declared that Agunloye would only be released on the instructions of the President of Nigeria.
He expressed concern over the exercise of power and stated that the situation involves issues of national interest and fundamental citizen rights. Soyinka believes that the Mambilla project is an opportunity for the nation to put the issue to rest and address the basic question of sustainable power supply for national industrial development.
(Opera)