Alwaght- Nigerian former Defense Minister Musiliu Obanikoro was arrested over financial corruption related to anti-terror budget.
The former minister is accused of misappropriation of $2.1 billion earmarked for the fight against Boko Haram, a state spokesman said late Monday.
The ex-minister left the country for the US after his term in the government expired. His spokesman Jonathan Eze says he was arrested after landing the capital Abuja, returning from the US.
Nigerian government is accused of extensive financial corruption and the country’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has launched a battle to fight the issue.
The ex-minister is accused of theft of $6.8 billion of public funds by senior officials in ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration and People’s Democratic Party.
Part of the money was assigned for fighting the ISIS-affiliated Boko Haram terrorist group. There have been reports that the group receives most of its funds and arms from corrupted state authorities.
Obanikoro, who moved to the US in mid-2015, was defense minister in 2014. He is alleged to have diverted $15.3 million of the arms fund to the 2014 election campaign. Investigators also claim to have traced some of the funds to accounts operated by Obanikoro’s children. He denies any wrongdoing.
Other former officials in the Jonathan government, including a former security advisor, military chiefs and prominent politicians, are being tried in connection with the alleged embezzlement of the arms money.
Aside from financial corruption, Nigerian government is accused of severe cases of human rights violation and suppressing opposition groups and figure that singled out the same corruptions.
The violent crackdown on Nigerian Shiite Muslims and detaining their leader, Sheikh Zakzaky was the latest example of such violations.
