The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has announced the return of N5.7 billion out of the N7.9 billion seized from Rochas Okorocha, the former governor of Imo State and current Senator representing Imo West Senatorial District at the National Assembly.
Usman Imam, the Zonal Head of the commission, revealed this update during a press conference, stating that the monies were released to the Ihedioha and Uzodinma administrations for the payment of salaries and pensions.
Imam explained, “I began the Imo state case in Enugu and when I was deployed to this zone, the investigations of corruption allegations against the former Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, were transferred from the Enugu zone to Port Harcourt for further investigations. During this period, the commission successfully froze about N7.9 billion in different accounts. The monies released to Imo State government were obtained from the recovered N7.9 billion from Okorocha, and were released in batches.”
He continued, “N2.7 billion was released in March for salaries. In the PDP government of Emeka Ihedioha, an excess of N2.5 billion, which had been the subject of several official communications and strong pressure from the EFCC, was released to pay salaries and pensions as it was money recovered from the state and thus needed to be returned to the state. After the administration of Emeka Ihedioha, the succeeding government still had a remaining amount of the money in excess of N2 billion. We managed to release N514 million just last month, while about N1.8 billion is still withheld due to ongoing court proceedings initiated by contractors who targeted the funds.
He added, “The seized assets of the senator were also identified in Imo and Abuja, and were confiscated by the commission, which has filed a court process for interim forfeiture of the confiscated assets belonging to Okorocha.”
Imam further stated, “The investigation has reached an advanced stage, and we anticipate that upon its conclusion, we will arraign the former governor. As part of the investigations, we targeted his assets, some located in Imo, Owerri, and others in Abuja. These properties in Abuja were marked by us, and court processes have been filed for their interim forfeiture. The objective is to conclude the investigations and ensure he faces legal proceedings.”
Rochas Okorocha held the position of governor of the state from 2011 to 2019.