Eno Ubi Otu, director of finance and accounts for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), has been detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on suspicion of taking part in a N25 billion fraud.
Otu was being questioned by EFCC agents in connection with an alleged diversion of over N25 billion in tax payments, according to a highly placed source who verified the situation on Wednesday night.
Otu, who appeared at the EFCC office early on August 24, 2022, was still being questioned at the time of publication.
The insider also revealed that the arrest was a part of a bigger probe brought on by the NDDC’s forensic audit report.
Wilson Uwujaren, the EFCC’s spokesperson, could not be reached for comment.
Olusegun Obasanjo, the president of Nigeria, founded the Niger Delta Development Commission in 2000 with the primary purpose of promoting Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta area.
President Umaru Yar’Adua announced the creation of a Niger Delta Ministry in September 2008, with the Niger Delta Development Commission joining the ministry as a parastatal.
One of the commission’s main responsibilities is to educate and train the young people of the oil-rich Niger Delta regions in order to reduce militancy and conflicts while building vital infrastructure to support diversification and production.
More details on this development shall be provided as soon as we have them.