Allies of the immediate past governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha, have gone underground in Owerri and elsewhere in Imo State, while many of them have fled the town following renewed clampdown on them by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
South East Zonal Head of the anti-graft agency, Usman Imam, at a recent press briefing at the Zonal Headquarters in Enugu, said the commission had marked more property linked to the former governor, his family members and some close aides that are present believed to have been acquired from stolen public fund, including the N26.8 billion bailout fund, the paris club debt relief refunds, etc.
He disclosed that full scale investigation of the eight-year tenure of Okorocha, is ongoing while at the same occasion, revealing that many officials and contractors who served the defunct rescue mission administration would be called to answer some questions pertaining their roles in the gross misappropriation, embezzlement and outright stealing of Imo government funds..
Apart from the official sealing of some of their private business outfits, the anti-graft body has deployed court processes to ensure interim forfeiture of the property, which include schools, hospitals and estates, as well as an ultramodern hospital belonging to his former aide in Owerri. Though, it was reported that a court in Rivers State lvacated the interim forfeiture order, to enable innocent students and teachers of the affected schools to resume for the 2019/2020 academic session.
Yesterday showed that the operative of the EFCC were intermittently sighted in Owerri, a situation that has forced some notable former appointees of the past government to elope and avoid public places.
A source told our reporter that operative of the EFCC were recently spotted at the highbrow Graceland Estate, Irete near Owerri, housing key actors of the Okorocha era.
Another high profile residential area visited by the officials was the Redemption Estate known as Udenwa Estate near Nekede, where Okorochas elder brother, Gerald and the younger ones appropriated choice lands for their eye-popping edifices.
In addition, members of the last state House of Assembly were not spared especially the 18 people alleged to have received N22million from the former governor in return for supporting the governorship aspiration of his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, on the platform of Action Alliance (AA).
Some of them are said to have become regular guests at the Enugu zonal office of the EFCC.
