EFCC Rearrests Achike Udenwa

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Wednesday re-arrested the former Governor of Imo State, Achike Udenwa, in connection with alleged campaign scandal at the last presidential election.

Udenwa, as a state co-ordinator for the Presidential Campaign Organisation in Imo State, was said to have collected N350million from the former Minister of state of Finance, Nenadi Usman.

The suspect, in his statement to the commission, admitted receiving the money via Diamond Bank account No.0058805692 and 005950791 respectively on January 14 and 28, 2015 in three separate installments.

He added that the money came from a company named Joint Trust Dimension Limited. The same company was charged alongside Usman and the Media Director of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, Femi Fani-Kayode, before a Federal High Court, Lagos, on a similar allegation.

Investigation by the EFCC however revealed that Udenwa and Viola Onwuliri, a former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, who was his deputy at the Presidential Campaign Organisation, were the two signatories to the
Diamond Bank account that received the money.

Upon his arrest, Udenwa was immediately granted administrative bail by the commission with condition that he should be reporting to the commission at an appointed time.

But while enjoying his administrative bail, Udenwa chose to deliberately skip reporting, thereby compelling the commission to revoke his administrative bail pending his arraignment soon.

Udenwa was governor of Imo State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) between 1999 and 2007.