Authorities in Edo State have reportedly detained Mr. Julius Anelu, the state’s accountant general, along with four other government officials, only twelve days before Governor Godwin Obaseki’s eight-year term comes to a close.
The officials were reportedly apprehended for their roles as signatories to the state government’s accounts, according to Vilrog’s reporting.
The employees were reportedly detained in the agency’s zonal headquarters in Benin, according to an insider.
They were summoned in for a briefing on Thursday, according to the sources, and then they were arrested.
The agency’s executives have reportedly stated their intention to hold the detained employees till the departing governor of Edo State’s term ends on November 12.
The administration allegedly came to a standstill after the officials were arrested because salaries, pensions, and other benefits owed to public servants have not been paid.
In addition to impacting security expenses and other statutory payments, Vilrog learned that the arrest had other consequences.
Williams Oseghale, a spokesman for the EFCC in Edo State’s Benin Zonal office, referred our reporter to Dele Oyewale, the spokesman for the Commission, when we asked him to corroborate the information.
But when the news crew tried to get in touch with Oyewale by phone, he instead instructed them to send a text message using the Short Messaging Service.
However, Oyewale has not yet responded to the message sent to his phone as of the report’s writing.