Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, a former governor of Delta State who is currently being tried for an alleged N1.3 trillion fraud has reportedly approached the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) release his passport to enable him travel outside Nigeria for a scheduled medical checkup.
Sources within the anti-graft agency told the PUNCH that the former governor visited the commission’s office on Awolowo Road, Lagos, as part of efforts to retrieve his travel document to enable him to attend to medical issues abroad.
The former governor was arrested on November 4, 2024, and subsequently questioned at the Port Harcourt Zonal Directorate of the commission.
A source told the newspaper that the former governor’s visit to the Lagos office was connected to ongoing discussions regarding the release of his passport
The source clarified that “he (Okowa) was not arrested; he was at the commission’s Lagos office as part of the ongoing investigation into his case.
“Also, he made moves to secure the release of his international passport to attend to some medical issues abroad,”
At press time, it was not clear if Sen Okowa was able to retrieve his passport.
However, it was not immediately clear whether the former governor succeeded in obtaining the document.
EFCC has retained the international passport of Okowa since his arrest on November 4, 2024, over allegations of diverting N1.3tn in 13 per cent derivation funds received by the state from the Federation Account between 2015 and 2023.
The anti-graft agency is also investigating allegations that Okowa failed to account for the funds and another N40 billion allegedly used to acquire shares in UTM Floating Liquefied Natural Gas and a major commercial bank.
He was arrested in Port Harcourt and later granted bail after meeting the conditions set by the commission