Fresh facts have emerged as to why operatives of the State Security Services barred the member representing Yagba East/West Federal Constituency of Kogi State in the House of Representatives, Hon. Sunday Karim, from traveling out of the country on Thursday.
The lawmaker was barred from boarding an Air France flight bound for the United States of America by the SSS operatives, who also confiscated his passport while trying to clear immigration at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Mr. Karim, who fumed at the discovery that the SSS’ action was based on a request by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, said Nigeria had become a lawless country.
Confirming that it alerted the SSS to prevent the lawmaker from embarking on any trip outside the country, the anti-graft agency said Karim is wanted for his alleged links to the arms procurement scandal.
The spokesperson for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, said on Friday that security agents decided to move against the Kogi lawmaker at the airport because he had been elusive for weeks.
RELATED POST: “Nigeria Has Become A Lawless Country”, PDP Reps Member Fumes After SSS Seizes Passport
“We’ve been looking for him since then but we couldn’t find him”, Mr. Uwujaren said. “So we had to put his name on the watch list”.
The EFCC spokesman said Mr. Karim became a person of interest because he allegedly received up to N200 million through a company linked to him.
The firm, Atlantic Drilling Fluids, allegedly received the funds from Sylvan MacNamara, a company linked to the sons of a former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, the EFCC said.
Sylvan MacNamara itself has featured prominently in investigations by the anti-graft agency as it was the company used by Mr. Obanikoro to receive about N4.7billion from the Office of the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, to prosecute the 2014 governorship election of Ekiti State.
Mr. Uwujaren said Mr. Karim reported at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja on Friday afternoon, and was later allowed to go on the condition that he would return on Monday for further interrogations.
