Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court has remanded a former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) pending the determination of his bail application.
The judge gave the remand order on Monday.
Okorocha is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and presidential aspirant.
The former Imo governor’s ally, Anyim Chinenye, is expected to join Okorocha in the EFCC custody.
Okorocha, Chinenye and five companies were arraigned on 17 counts of money laundering filed by the EFCC.
Ekwo adjourned till Tuesday for the hearing of the bail applications by Okorocha and Chinenye.
Senator Okorocha (Imo West, APC) had filed an ex parte application in which he predicated his bail request on the grounds that he is a presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress and that his political ambition would be jeopardised unless granted bail.
Justice Ekwo in a brief ruling on the ball application said he was not inclined to admit him to bail.
Instead, the judge ordered Okorocha to put the Federal Government on notice to come and defend his detention.
Okorocha has been slated for arraignment on N2.9 billion money laundering charges before the same judge twice but refused to honour the same court.
On January 24, 2022, the anti-graft agency filed a 17-count criminal charge bordering on allegation of diversion of public funds and properties to the tune of N2.9 billion against Okorocha.
The case was assigned to Honourable Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja but attempts to arraign Senator Okorocha were twice stalled owing to the absence of the ex-governor who evaded service of processes, the agency said in a statement posted on its Facebook page Tuesday evening.
It said at the last adjourned date, March 28, 2022, Justice Ekwo before adjourning until May 30, 2022, had warned that it was “the last adjournment I shall grant in this matter.”
