ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Samuel Ortom, the immediate past Governor of Benue State, has reacted to reports circulating that the officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have been deployed from Abuja to arrest him.
According to the report circulating mostly on social media, officials of EFCC had arrived in Makurdi, the State capital, on Sunday night to arrest Ortom.
The report claimed that the anti-graft agency was working on the invitation of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State.
According to the report: “the plan is to use EFCC to arrest Governor Ortom as soon as he loses immunity today (29th May 2023) and take him to Abuja where he will be later transferred to Lagos and tortured severely.”
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The report further revealed: “A team of EFCC officials was covertly deployed from Abuja to Benue State, yesterday, the 28th of May, without the knowledge of the commission’s Makurdi office who they feared might leak the plot to Governor Ortom.
“The team was reportedly given the express mandate to invade Ortom’s house and ransack the residence to pick him up.”
But reacting to the report, Ortom’s media aide, Terver Akase, said there was no cause for worry as his principal has nothing to hide.
Akase, in the statement, said: “We read some online reports which stated that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has deployed a team of its officers to Benue State to arrest and detain the immediate past Governor of the State, Samuel Ortom over unfounded allegations.
“While we doubt the authenticity of the reports, it is pertinent to state categorically that His Excellency Samuel Ortom has nothing to hide and will be available if and whenever the EFCC invites him.
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“Governor Ortom has repeatedly said that he ran a transparent administration and is willing to honour the invitation of any anti-corruption agency that wants to get clarifications on operations of his administration.”
Having served as Governor of Benue State for eight years, Ortom, on Sunday, 28 May 2023 presented his handover notes to the new Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Allia at the Old Banquet Hall, Makurdi.