It is no longer news that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Sunday arrested a former deputy governor of Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, after three months of a Cat and Mouse game.
What is however, news, is the mild drama that reportedly played out when the anti-graft agency’s officials wanted to effect his arrest, using a valid court warrant.
The former Osun deputy governor and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chieftain was arrested by the EFCC at his Maitama residence in Abuja for the N4.745billion allegedly allocated to him and others by the Office of the former National Security Adviser (ONSA).
Of the slush funds, about N1.310billion was allegedly traced to Omisore and three companies.
His suspected accomplices include Governor Ayodele Fayose and former Minister of State Defence (State) Musiliu Obanikoro, who is presently in the United States.
SEE: Omisore Demands N500m As Damages From EFCC For Declaring Him ‘Wanted’
It was learnt that when the operatives stormed his residence yesterday morning based on intelligence reports that he was in Abuja, Mr. Omisore reportedly locked himself up in the master bedroom, refusing to surrender.
The former Osun deputy governor reportedly told the EFCC team: “I will not follow you; only my corpse will follow you”.
He, however, reportedly surrendered when the siege to his house was daunting.
A top source in EFCC, who gave a blow-by-blow account of how Omisore was eventually arrested, said: “We had intelligence report that Omisore was at his 1, Kainji Crescent in Maitama, Abuja. We set out at 6am to invite him but when we got there; we were told he was not in town.
“We went into the compound and gained access to the house. We started searching the rooms one by one. At a point, we discovered that the master’s bedroom was locked. We asked them to open it but they said, they had no key to it. Having been aware of our presence, Omisore had firmly locked up himself to evade arrest.
“We surrounded the place with armed policemen and entered the master bedroom through the balcony. When we met him, we showed him a court warrant of arrest and a search warrant fully endorsed by a competent court.
“We searched his room afterwards and we discovered documents linking him to those companies used for laundering of money from ONSA, National Assembly and some firms which they forced to part with cash to fund political campaign.
“Some of the documents on landed properties which he bought with these slush funds.
“When we finished the search, we showed him the warrant of arrest but he retired into a mild drama that he would not go to the EFCC office.
“Omisore, who knew the game was up said: ‘I will not follow you, only my corpse will follow you’. The suspense continued until his lawyer, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, asked him to go to EFCC headquarters.
“After then, we took him to the office and obtained a statement from him. During interrogation, he admitted that he is a director of some of the companies linked to him. ONSA, National Assembly and some firms that paid huge funds into the accounts of these companies”.
According to the source, the PDP chieftain acknowledged that the companies paid the funds under investigation to him but they were the money he loaned them.
“We have served him bail conditions, it is left to him to meet these terms to regain freedom. So far, we have detained him”, the source said.
It was learnt that $21,000 and about N1million cash was found in Mr. Omisore’s room along with sensitive documents relating to transfer of funds to slush companies by ONSA, the National Assembly and some companies.
