Godswill Akpabio Arrested by EFCC over Alleged N108.1 Billion Theft.

Senate minority leader and former governor of Akwa-Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio, is said to have been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes ( EFCC).

Sources revealed that Akpabio was picked today at about 5:20 pm. He was said to have accompanied by a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Ricky Tarfa and a few aides.

Further reports said: it is not yet known whether he would be allowed to return home this night. It depends on how the investigation goes" a source at EFCC is reported to have disclosed.

It was gathered that Akpabio is being grilled by top EFCC officials over alleged theft of N108.1 Billion of Akwa-Ibom funds by the former governor.

The said investigation began in June after a lawyer and activist based in Abuja, Leo Ekpenyong forwarded a petition to President Muhammadu Buhari and the anti- graft agency, demanding for the probe of Akpabio for looting Akwa-Ibom State's treasury.

In his petition dated June 22, Ekpenyong is said to had copied Buhari, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, Ekpenyong detailed Akpabio's financial recklessness.

He alleged that between January and December 2014, the ex-governor colluded with two of his top aides to have stolen N108.1 billion from the State's treasury.

Ekpenyong also told the EFCC that the former permanent Secretary to the Government House, Etekamba Umoren and the former Account-General of the State, Udo Isobara, colluded with the now Senator Akpabio to steal the funds between January to December 2014,

It is on record that the trio of Akpabio, Etekamba, and Udo Isobara, made illegal but substantial withdrawals of cash from a designated State government owned account with Zenith Bank account number: 1010375881 amounting to N22.1 billion, he stated in the petition.

It is worthy to note that reasons for such ungodly cash withdrawals against financial regulations and due process laws range between sundry use and unjustifiable expenditures by Godswill Akpabio and his numerous surrogates and proxies.

For instance, a whopping N18 billion was withdraw fraudulently from the State FAAC account with the United Bank for Africa in trenches of N10 million and above by Mr. Isobara in a surreptitious manner to conceal their dishonest intention.

Ekpenyong said Umoren's reward for assisting Akpabio to lauder the stolen funds was an appointment as the Government House Chief of Staff. He is currently the Secretary to the Akwa-Ibom State Government under, Governor Udom Emmanuel's Àdministration.

The petition also alleged that over N50 billion of Akwa-Ibom State funds were spent by the former governor during the last general elections.