Ayodele Fayose, a former governor of Ekiti State, is still being held by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, 24 hours after he reported at the agency, his lawyer has said.
Mr Fayose turned himself up at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, October 16, 2018, the day after his tenure as governor ended.
If by Thursday, October 18, 2018, the EFCC does not release Mr Fayose, then the agency has to secure a court order to detain him as the Nigerian constitution provides that a person arrested on the allegation of having committed an offence must be charged to court within 48 hours.
Mr Fayose had stated he would report to the EFCC immediately after he vacated office to answer questions on corruption allegations and abuse of office levelled against him.
According to him, his decision to visit the EFCC was informed by his belief in the rule of law and the need to clear his name.
“I am here in line with my promise that I will be here on October 16, 2018. Like I said to the EFCC to await my arrival. This morning they came to my house, they cordoned off my street which I feel personally is unnecessary and unwarranted,” he said before entering the EFCC office on Tuesday.
”Fayose can only be detained for 24 hours under section 35 of the Constitution. If the EFCC, as always, obtains a magistrate court order to detain him for another two weeks, his lawyers will promptly seek legal redress to enforce his fundamental human rights,” Mr Ozekhome, who was among those that accompanied Mr Fayose to the EFCC’s Abuja office on Wednesday, October 17, 2018, warned.
Efforts to reach EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, was unsuccessful as all his known telephone numbers were not reachable at the time of this report.
