DSS arrests Obanikoro’s wife, hands her over to EFCC over N4.7bn fraud

The alleged involvement of the former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, in the diversion of N4.7bn from the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, took a dramatic turn on Thursday, as his wife, Alhaja Moroophat Onikoro, was arrested by the Department of State Services, DSS.

According to a DSS source, Alhaja Onikoro was arrested in front of her husband’s Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos home.

The source said: “We arrested Alhaja Onikoro this morning. Although she bears Onikoro, she is the wife of Obanikoro. She was arrested with some vital documents. She is currently in our office in Shangisha, Lagos, and will later be transferred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for more investigation.”

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A source at the EFCC also disclosed that after Alhaja Onikoro was interrogated by the anti-graft agency, she was released to go home with the condition that she must report back on Friday.

“We released her after interrogation. The woman cooperated fully with us and we allowed her to go because we don’t hold people hostage. We asked her questions and she answered respectfully,” said the the EFCC souirce.

it would be recalled that the EFCC has been investigating Obanikoro, Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State and a former Deputy Governor of Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore over the N4.7bn.

While Fayose enjoys immunity as a sitting governor, the EFCC freezed his personal accounts with Zenith Bank on allegations that he received about N1.3bn out of the money to fund his election in 2014.

Omisore, who was also alleged to have benefitted from the largesse, is currently in EFCC detension while Obanikoro, who left the country in June 2015, has remained in the United State of America, refusing to come home to clear his name despite consistently refuting the allegations.

It would also be recalled that the EFCC has raised homes belonging Obanikoro and his sons last month, during which the its operatives left leaving with some documents.

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By Timothy Enietan-Matthews …

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