EFCC grants Ifeanyi Okowa bail, seizes passport

Ifeanyi Okowa, the former governor of Delta State, has had his foreign passport revoked by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. 

On November 4, 2024, Okowa was taken into custody by the anti-graft agency on suspicion of misappropriating a N1.3 trillion derivation fund. Between 2015 and 2023, the N1.3 trillion represented a 13% derivation money from the federation account. 

Along with the N40 billion he reportedly claimed to have used to purchase shares in UTM Floating Liquefied Natural Gas, he was also charged with neglecting to provide accounts of the cash.

Additionally, Okowa is accused of purchasing N40 billion worth of shares in one of the nation's largest banks, which amounts to 8% of the equity needed to float the offshore LNG. 

Commission sources said that Okowa was at the EFCC office in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, when commission investigators arrested him. 

Okowa was released on Wednesday of last week after fulfilling his bail requirements, according to a person with knowledge of the situation but who was not allowed to speak to reporters. 

According to the source, one of the requirements was to turn in his travel documents to the agency while the case was being handled.

“Okowa is no longer in our custody. He was released last Wednesday after meeting his bail conditions, which include depositing his travel documents with the commission, pending the conclusion of our investigations of the allegations against him.

“The sum allegedly is too huge to take risks. And what we have done is not out of place. This is to prevent anyone under investigation from jumping the bail he/she had been granted,” he said.

Source