Dare Olipede, the Permanent Secretary in charge of Local Government Board and Pension Transition in Ondo state has been arrested over allegations of money laundering, SaharaReporters has learned.
Olipede was arrested at the weekend by the combined operatives of the Police Special Fraud Unit from Lagos state following a petition written against him for involving in series of embezzlement.
A police source that hinted our correspondent on Sunday afternoon about the arrest said that some whistleblowers wrote to the operatives on the series of fraud that the Permanent Secretary had committed in his former office.
Olipede was formerly a Director at Owo Local Government Council before he was elevated to his new position as a Permanent Secretary on November 17 2017 apparently because of his connection to the current governor, Rotimi Akeredolu who is also from Owo.
The police source added that the petition was also backed up with a document detailing how the fund was perpetrated by some other senior officers who are also currently under investigation.
“Some Police Officers from the Special Fraud Unit in Ikoyi Lagos stormed his office in Akure last week to effect his [Dare Olipede] arrest following a petition that was received over his involvement in series of fraud and embezzlement in the state.
“When the officers entered into his office at the Local Government Board, he immediately became uncontrollable and started making frantic calls to some top government officials in the state to inform them that about his arrest.
“Later, he asked for the warrant arrest and the operatives showed it to him then he began to use the name of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to bragged and threatened our officers for storming his office over a petition written against him while also resisting arrest,” said the source.
He disclosed that while the whole drama was going on at Mr. Oliepde office, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Gbenga Ale, came in and intervened after he had also threatened the visiting security operatives with mob action to extricate Olipede.
“And in order not to cause more commotion, the senior police officer who led the operatives withdrew his men and agreed that he [Olipede] should report at the Police SIB headquarters on Igbaotoro road in Akure for questioning because the atmosphere was already charged and tense at his office.
“At that period, the Chief of Staff stood for him and by the next day, in fact very early in the morning, he reported as agreed and after he was interrogated the operatives whisked him away in their bus to the Lagos office.
“They told the top government officials who came to rescue him from his arrest to report at the Ikoyi, Lagos office of the operatives for more details.
Femi Joseph, the spokesman of the Ondo State Police Command didn’t respond to inquiries on Sunday.
But a junior police source who begged not to be named confirmed that Mr. Olipede was arrested and moved outside the state by the police security operatives from the Lagos.
“The Permanent Secretary was whisked away from here but I cannot give you details unless you will wait till tomorrow, I am very sure the PRO would have arrived from his travel” he said.
Meanwhile, a source had also told SaharaReporters that the embattled Permanent Secretary had also been a regular visitor at the offices of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC] following allegations of misappropriation of funds.
The source who pleaded not to be named detailed how Mr. Olipede colluded with some corrupt senior officials at the Owo Local Government Area and embezzled funds meant to initiate developmental projects in his former council.
He disclosed that the Permanent Secretary was still having a case with the anti-graft agency following an involvement in a fraud of N60 Million Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Program [SURE-P] fund.
SaharaReporters gathered that former Governor Olusegun Mimiko wired huge SURE-P fund to the Local Government Councils in the state before the 2016 governorship election in an attempt to use the funds to influence the election of his handpicked candidate.