Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC has detained the Abia State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Slyvester Ezeani for allegedly receiving N20 million bribe.
Ezeani who was the Cross River State REC during the March 28, 2015 Presidential and National Assembly Elections was arrested on Tuesday, July 19, 2016, and quizzed by EFCC operatives in Port Harcourt, Rivers State over allegations of collecting N20million out of N241million during the election exercise.
The N241million was alleged to have been given to Cross River State from the controversial $115 million provided by former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Allison- Madueke.
An EFCC official was quoted in Punch as saying: “The REC was on Tuesday interrogated by operatives of the EFCC in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, in connection with an alleged N20m electoral scam.
“While serving in Cross River State, he was alleged to have collected the sum of N20m out of the entire N241,000,000, which was released to Cross River State from the controversial $115m lodged in a bank by Diezani.
“Ezeani, who has now been redeployed to Abia State, was quizzed over his involvement in the scam. He is still in custody.”
Mrs. Alison-Madueke has been under EFCC investigation over her alleged involvement in a $115m (N23.29 billion ) 2015 poll bribery scandal.
Other Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officers reported to be under EFCC investigation as reported by The Nation includes :
* REC Gesil Khan for allegedly collecting N185, 842,000 out of a N681million bribe;
* Fidelia Omoile ( Electoral Officer in Isoko-South Local Government Area of Delta State)— N112,480,000 ;
* Uluochi Obi Brown ( INEC’s Administrative Secretary in Delta State)—N111,500,000;
* A former Deputy Director of INEC in Cross River state, Edem Okon Effanga—N241,127,000 and the Head of Voter Education in INEC in Akwa Ibom, Immaculata Asuquo—N214,127,000.
* Also, a retired INEC official, Sani Isa, was grilled for N406,206,000 bribe allegedly collected on behalf of the deceased Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Kano State, Alhaji Mukaila Abdullahi.
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