HEAD, Media and Publicity of the the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, in a statement gave reasons the anti-graft agency went after the Chairman of Innoson Group, Chief Innocent Chukwuma.
Chukwuma was arrested yesterday, at about 11:00 am at his Savage Crescent, GRA Enugu residence where his staff allegedly put up resistance against his arrest but EFCC operatives finally had their way and whisked him away to their Enugu office.
Uwujaren said: “His arrest followed his refusal to honour invitation by the Commission having earlier jumped an administrative bail granted him in a case being investigated by the Capital Market and Insurance Fraud Unit of the Commission’s Lagos office.
“Chukwuma rather than honouring invitation by the EFCC, mobilized six truckloads of thugs, pretending to be staff of his company, to his residence, where they manhandled EFCC operatives.
“It took reinforcement from the Enugu office of the EFCC to effect the arrest of the industrialist who is currently being grilled by a team of investigators.”
EFCC’s Media Officer in Enugu, Mr. Chris Oluka, who confirmed his arrest in Enugu, said there was resistance by the business mogul before his arrest. “He did put up some resistance by using some trucks to block our way to his residence but we finally arrested him.”
The EFCC officer added that Chukwuma was still being kept in the Enugu office as of 3:30 pm but would be taken to Lagos before the end of the day.
Spokesman of Innoson Group of Companies, Mr Cornel Osigwe, decried Chukwuma’s arrest.
He told an online newspaper that “his arrest is in connection to the ongoing case he has with the bank.”
Claiming that Chukwuma was accused of jumping bail, Osigwe wondered how someone who was never invited by the EFCC much less being arrested would be accused of fleeing from the law.
