Commission arrests staff over alleged N15m bribe

September 23, 2016 9:45 PM

EFCC has arrested one of its operatives for allegedly collecting a bribe of N15 million from a lawmaker.

EFCC Operatives

A staff of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been

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The suspect identified as Uzodinma Kingsley Agbazue was apprehended on Friday, September 23.

The Commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, revealed this in a statement issued in Abuja, noting that the arrest was in line with the commission's resolve to expose corrupt operatives which would in turn uphold its integrity.

“In furtherance of its avowed commitment to uphold the integrity of its officers, EFCC has arrested one of its operatives.

“Uzodinma Kingsley Agbazue was arrested for offences bordering on criminal conspiracy and extortion,’’ Uwujaren stated.

The suspect who was a Deputy Detective Superintendent (DSS) in the commission prior to his arrest, reportedly took a bribe of N15 million from a lawmaker.

Uwujaren noted that “Agbazue was arrested following a complaint by a lawmaker currently under investigation by the commission, alleging that the operative collected N15 million from him and promised to give him (the lawmaker) soft landing.”

The lawmaker is also reported to have told the commission that the suspect was unable to keep his promise as he could not get the bidding of the investigating officer in charge of the case.

“Following the approach, the sum of N15 million was given to Agbazue, whose game plan collapsed after the investigating officer, who was ignorant of his scheme, refused to do his bidding.

“And with the investigation gathering increased momentum after parting with the hefty sum, the complainant became uncomfortable and demanded refund.

“The complainant stated that when he requested for the refund of his money, Agbazue only returned N5 million, claiming that the balance of N10million had been given to someone “to kill the case from the top.”

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The suspect is currently in the custody of the commission while further investigation is carried out into the case.

As has been reported, the EFCC as an anti-graft agency has been given the constitutional backing to investigate, arrest and prosecute alleged financial crimes aimed at complementing Federal Government’s war against corruption.