Why EFCC Arrested Edo Accountant General – Source

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has detained the Accountant General of Edo State, Julius Anelu, and two other top government officials, over alleged withdrawals of significant sums from the state’s account.

Sources within the EFCC who spoke with Punch revealed that the officials were apprehended following suspicions surrounding the disbursement of funds.

Of the N24.6 billion recently deposited into Edo State’s account, only about N14 billion remained within a week, raising concerns over the rapid outflow of funds.

An EFCC source clarified that the agency’s intervention aims to protect the state’s financial health rather than hinder its operations.

“We made some arrests of about two to three persons, including the Accountant General of the state. We have been investigating the governor of the state, Godwin Obaseki, since 2022 but this latest arrest was as a result of some withdrawals from the state’s derivation account.

“The amounts withdrawn were huge sums. For instance, about some weeks ago, N N24.6bn was paid into that account. But in less than one week, about N14bn was remaining in the account. To save the state, we had to quickly move. We are not in any way doing that to ground the state activities”, said the source.

This comes after the Edo State governor-elect, Senator Monday Okpebholo, accused the Obaseki administration ‘of last-minute borrowings and looting.’

In a statement he issued on October 16, Okpebholo called on relevant authorities, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, police and Department of State Services, to investigate the allegations.