Ex-Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has denied that he was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Lagos on Tuesday, even as he said the anti-graft agency granted him “bail on self-recognition”.
Fani-Kayode made the contradictions in a two-part tweet after his arrest by the EFCC. According to different online sources, bail is the temporary release of an accused person awaiting trial after the arrest of such person.
Tweeting via @realFFK, he wrote, “I was never arrested by the EFCC. I was invited & I flew down to Lagos to see them. I arrived in their office at 2.00pm & left at 8.30pm. I was granted bail on self recognition. They were very polite & professional. Thanks be to God.”
“I pity those that said I was arrested. They are filled with hate & live on fake news. Since when did an invitation & a friendly chat become an arrest? And even if I had been arrested, SO WHAT? I am not above the law & neither does joining APC give me immunity. My God is MIGHTY!” he added.
Fani-Kayode was said to be under investigation for alleged forgery and manipulation of documents.
It was gathered that the ex-minister, who re-joined the All Progressives Congress in September, was brought to the Lagos Zonal Office of the anti-graft agency on Tuesday.
The details of the allegations against him were sketchy but the EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed Fani-Kayode’s arrest by operatives.
Fani-Kayode had been having a running battle with the EFCC for some time and he was once remanded for 67 days in 2016 alongside a former minister of finance, Nevada Usman.
The duo and two others were facing a 17-count of criminal conspiracy, fraud and money laundering to the tune of N4.9 billion.
They denied the allegations, and each of them was later granted N250 million bail.
The Punch
