Prominent business executive and socialite Aisha Achimugu has declared a “hunger strike” in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) custody following her arrest by operatives of the commission.
On Tuesday in Abuja, a statement by the legal team of Achimugu, led by Mr Chikaosolu Ojukwu, SAN, said that their client was arrested at about 5 a.m. at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the EFCC declared Achimugu wanted on allegations of criminal conspiracy and money laundering in March.
NAN also recalls that a Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice I.E. Ekwo, had on Monday ordered Achimugu to appear before the EFCC on Tuesday and the court on Wednesday.
Ojukwu said their client had arrived voluntarily from London to honour the EFCC invitation before commission operatives arrested her.
He said that the socialite had, through her lawyer, informed the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday that she would visit the EFCC on Tuesday.
He explained that the planned visit was in connection with an ongoing investigation into an alleged case of criminal conspiracy and money laundering brought against her.
”In light of what transpired in court on Monday, our client returned based on the undertaking before the court to honour the EFCC’s invitation, but was arrested at the airport.
“She has immediately gone on a hunger strike. She is a prisoner of conscience, and our stand on the arrest is that it has run contrary to the rule of law,” he said.
NAN reports that efforts to contact the EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, about Achimugu’s arrest proved abortive. The phone rang several times without being picked up.
Ojukwu said that Achimugu was a well-known business magnate and the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Felak Concept Group, a consortium comprising several companies in engineering, maritime, oil and gas, and information technology.
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