Murtala Nyako

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Monday questioned a former governor of Adamawa State, Admiral Murtala Nyako (retd.), for over six hours in Abuja.

Nyako, who returned to the country from his sojourn overseas on Saturday, was said to have reported at the headquarters of the EFCC as early as 10 am on Monday.

An EFCC official who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity said that operatives of the commission commenced interrogation of the governor almost immediately he arrived in the anti-graft office.

The source said that the operatives were still interrogating the former governor as of the time of filing this report at 5pm.

“The former governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako, is with our operatives now. You know that he was declared wanted and operatives have been in his trail since then.

“He was not arrested; he reported at the commission around 10am. Operatives have since commenced action and he is still being interrogated. He came back into the country on Saturday and reported to the commission,” the anti-graft official told our correspondent at 4.44pm on Monday.

The Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed to our correspondent on the telephone that Nyako was at the commission’s office on Monday.

“All I can say is that the former Governor Nyako is with the commission,” he said.

The EFCC spokesman did not say anything further on the ongoing interrogation of the governor.

Our correspondent learnt that while Nyako’s interrogation were going on in Abuja, some of his supporters and political associates back home were waiting to host him to a reception organised in his honour.

A source said that the people were still waiting at the reception ground in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, as of the time of this report.

The EFCC had declared Nyako wanted in January, 2015, when he allegedly failed to honour invitations from the commission after his impeachment by the Adamawa State House of Assembly.

Prior to the Monday interrogation, operatives of the commission had arrested the son of the former governor, Abdula-Aziz, in Gombe on February 14, 2015.

Both Nyako and his son had been declared wanted in January for money laundering and other related offences.

Uwujaren had said then that the governor’s son was wanted in connection with alleged laundering of N15bn belonging to the Adamawa State Government.

The sum was said to have been laundered through five accounts of companies belonging to the governor’s son.

The companies, according to Uwujaren, are Blue Opal Nigeria Limited, Crust Energy Nigeria Limited, Blue Ribbon Multilinks Limited, Tower Assets Management Limited and Blue Ribbon Bureau De Change.

Nyako, who was among the five governors of the Peoples Democratic Party who defected to the All Progressives Congress, had fled from the country since July 2014 after his impeachment.