A few days after being listed as wanted, Olu Agunloye, former minister of state for power, was confirmed to be in custody by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to a Channels Television source within the anti-graft bureau, Agunloye has been in custody since December 13, 2023.
The source said: “He has been with the EFCC since December 13th. But it was not made public.”
About a week ago, the EFCC proclaimed Agulonye wanted in connection with a $6 billion purported scam involving the contentious Mambilla hydropower project.
The agency said: “The public is hereby notified that Olu Agunloye, whose photograph appears above, is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in an alleged case of corruption and forgery.”
The agency had asked members of the public to contact it with useful information as to his whereabouts.
The EFCC had in September questioned the former minister over the same issue.
Agunloye was a minister under President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government (1999-2003). He has been at the centre of the controversy about the Mambilla project.
He was accused by Obasanjo of illegally awarding the project’s contract without the Federal Executive Council’s (FEC) consent.
However, Agunloye refuted the charges and asserted that the outgoing president was falsifying information.
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