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Kwara Ex-Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed Laments Detention By EFCC, Lack Of Access To Doctors, Cooks

Kwara Ex-Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed Laments Detention By EFCC, Lack Of Access To Doctors, Cooks
February 21, 2024

He blamed the agency for continuing to detain him despite fulfilling all his bail conditions without any justification.

Former Kwara State governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, has lamented not having access to his medical doctors and personal cooks in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The former governor said these in a statement issued in Ilorin on Tuesday  night by his spokesman, Alhaji Abdulwahab Oba and made available to journalists. 

He blamed the agency for continuing to detain him despite fulfilling all his bail conditions without any justification. 

The statement reads: “As a former Governor, he  has never defaulted in all previous invitations extended to him by the commission.” 

The statement said that,  “Yes, he is still with the EFCC and we are now at a dilemma over the issue because they keep changing the goal post during the match. 

“The case is taking a new dimension which we don’t really understand for now.

“Initially they said they wanted him to produce two sureties who are federal directors. 

“The sureties came and were asked to provide landed properties in Abuja. We see this as a contradiction”. 

The statement  added, “The case was initially handled by the EFCC office in Abuja before it was transferred to Ilọrin over the issue of jurisdiction. 

“Additionally, he has been denied access to his doctors, medication and direct access to his cook”.

Recall that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it was planning to charge Abdulfatah Ahmed before a Federal High Court in Ilorin over an alleged diversion of over N10billion.

SaharaReporters had reported how the former governor was grilled at Ilorin Command Office to answer questions regarding an allegation of Billions of Naira during his tenure on Monday. 

The commission had discovered that some funds belonging to the state were misappropriated and diverted by Ahmed’s government and Saraki's government in which he served as the Commissioner for Finance.

Ahmed was appointed as the Commissioner for Finance in Kwara after Saraki assumed office as governor in 2003.

He also served as the treasurer of the Forum of Commissioners of Finance in Nigeria and the Chairman of the Budget Formulation Committee and Economic Team of Kwara State.

In the build-up to the 2011 general elections, Ahmed contested and won the primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He won the Kwara governorship seat and re-election after succeeding Saraki, who also won the election to represent Kwara Central senatorial district in the National Assembly after completing two terms as governor.

Ahmed left office in 2019 and was succeeded by the incumbent governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, who won on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Ahmed was earlier arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2021 for alleged N9billion fraud.