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The Nigeria Police Force in Cross River says it has arrested former presidential aide Okoi Obono-Obla over allegations of forgery and unlawfully gaining entry into the legal profession.
In a statement on Thursday, the state police spokesperson, Eitokpah Sunday, said Obono-Obla was taken into custody on Thursday at Abuja Park in Ugep, Cross River State. He explained that the arrest followed a petition submitted to the Commissioner of Police alleging forgery and the procurement of legal admission through false claims. Sunday rejected reports circulating online that unidentified security operatives had abducted the former aide.
He maintained that the arrest was carried out in accordance with the law and within the police’s constitutional powers to investigate suspected criminal offences.
According to him, Obono-Obla was subsequently transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Calabar, where inquiries are ongoing.
He added that the suspect’s lawyer had been informed and was participating in the process, while his family had also been notified of his whereabouts.
“The arrest was effected in accordance with extant laws and in the exercise of the constitutional and statutory powers of the Nigeria Police Force to investigate allegations of criminal conduct,” the statement read.
Obono-Obla previously served under former President Muhammadu Buhari as Special Assistant to the President (Prosecution) in the Federal Ministry of Justice. He also headed the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property.
In August 2019, Buhari suspended him from the panel following an investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over alleged record falsification and financial misconduct. Two months later, the ICPC declared him wanted for repeatedly failing to honour invitations related to fraud and corruption allegations.
He was arrested by the anti-corruption agency in March 2020 and subsequently arraigned in 2021 over an alleged N10.1 million fraud. Later that year, he was again brought before the court on charges linked to the alleged falsification of academic records.
The ICPC had reportedly accused him of forging O-Level results to secure admission to study law during the 1985/86 academic session at the University of Jos. Investigations into the latest allegations are ongoing.
