TheCable

Some protesters on Wednesday marched to the Ilorin zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the detention of Abdulfatah Ahmed, a former governor of Kwara state.

The protesters identified themselves as members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

Ahmed was invited by the anti-graft agency on Monday to its zonal office in Ilorin, the state capital over N3 billion spent during his administration.

Ahmed was the governor of Kwara between 2011 and 2019.

Before he became governor, he served as commissioner for finance in the administration of Bukola Saraki, his predecessor.

This is the third time Ahmed has been invited by the anti-graft agency since he left office in 2019.

In May 2021, he was grilled at the EFCC’s headquarters in Abuja over allegations of fraud.

The second time was in December 2020, when he was at the commission’s office in Ilorin to clarify certain transactions and decisions he took as governor.

The leader of the protestors who spoke with journalists, said the former governor has been denied access to his wife and lawyers since he was detained.

“His wife was not allowed to check on him, even his lawyers were prevented from seeing him. We the masses and party loyalists are prevented from him,” he said.

“When Governor Ahmed was in government, he declared the allocation of the state every month. Everybody knew what was going in and coming out. That is transparency.

“If EFCC has a case against him, they should go to court and not take the law into their own hands. Instead of going ex-governor Ahmed, they should go after the governor.”