The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has released All Progressive Congress (APC) chieftain, Lawal Jafaru Isa 24 hours after his arrest on Wednesday, January 6, 2016.
Brig. General Jafaru Isa (retired) was a former military administrator of Kaduna State and a close friend and classmate of embattled former National Security Advisor, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd).
EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the arrest of Jafaru Isa on Wednesday night at his residence in Asokoro, Abuja.
Uwujaren, who did not give any reason why the former military governor was arrested, but he did confirm that he was released before the expiration of the 48 hour period constitutional stipulated for holding a suspect for interrogation without filing charges.
According to media reports, Isa was arrested on the orders of President Muhammadu Buhari after he ‘had the audacity to sign as a surety for Dasuki bail’.
Sources tell media that the EFCC arrested Isa for allegedly receiving N20 million and N30 million from Dasuki, presumably to buy a house in Kano.
“You know Jafaru Isa and Dasuki have been together since their days at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna. So, when Dasuki wanted to buy a house in Kano, he approached Isa,” an unidentified source told Daily Trust.
“Isa got a house for him and he was sending the money piecemeal to him through his account. The transaction was not possible because of the way Dasuki was sending the money.
“It was while they were investigating the Arms scam that they saw the transaction. But frankly speaking, it has no connection with it. It happened between 2013 and 2014,” he revealed
Isa contested as the governorship candidate of the CPC in Kano State in 2011. He was also one of the 19 members of the Buhari Transition Committee led by Ahmed Joda.
Other media reports say that the arrest of Isa was orchestrated to deflect attention from the fact that Buhari’s anti-corruption war is a smokescreen for targeting members of the main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and officials who served under former President Goodluck Jonathan.
So far, only officials of the PDP or persons who served under Jonathan have been targetted for investigation by the anti-graft commission. The latest being national publicity secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisah Metuh, who has been detained by the EFCC since Monday, January 4, 2016. No charges have been filed against Metuh.
The PDP has called for the unconditional release of Metuh. So has his family, asking that he be charged to court or released. However, the EFCC continues to detain him against the stipulations in Nigeria’s constitution.
