EFCC Fails To Arraign ex-NIA Boss Oke, Wife

Eniola Olayemi

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Friday failed to arraign a former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Ayodele Oke, and his wife, Mrs. Folashade Oke.

The anti-graft body had filed four counts against Oke and his wife, Folashade, before the Federal High Court, in Lagos.

The dismissed Director General of National Intelligence Agency, (NIA), Ambassador Ayodele Oke, and his wife, Folashade, were not in court this Friday to answer for the recovered loot linked to them which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recovered from Flat 7B Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos.

EFCC were not able to arraign Oke, and his wife, after the anti-graft agency had on Wednesday filed four charges against them before the Federal High Court in Lagos.

The couple it was learnt, was scheduled to be arraigned this Friday before Justice C.J. Aneke in connection with the loot in different currencies of $43,449,947, £27,800 and N23,218,000, (totaling N13 billion).

Rotimi Oyedepo, the anti-graft agency’s prosecutor, who was in court without the defendants urged the court registrars to reschedule the arraignment till Wednesday, February 6.

The development is coming as online reports claim that Oke and his wife may have travelled out of the country to escape prosecution.

EFCC had also filed charges against dismissed Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, in Abuja last week.

It was learnt that the two cases came following mounting allegations against President Muhammadu Buhari government for being selective in its anti-corruption fight.

Both OKe and Lawal were dismissed by Buhari in 2017 over alleged corruption but were yet to be prosecuted till EFCC charged them to court only this January 2019.