Nigeria's anti-corruption agency arrested one of the West African nation's top politicians Sunday night on suspicion of defrauding the oil-rich country, an official said.
Officers arrested outgoing House of Representatives speaker Dimeji Bankole at his home in Nigeria's capital of Abuja after the lawmaker resisted arrest for more than four hours, said Femi Babafemi, a spokesman for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Babafemi gave no additional details about the allegations facing Bankole, other than to say that he would be held "in custody to enable him to have sufficient time to answer questions on the numerous fraud allegations against him."
The lawmaker apparently refused several requests by officials to be interrogated.
"An intelligence report ... showed that the former speaker was planning to leave Abuja for Lagos on Sunday evening and thereafter flee the country through an illegal route," a statement from Babafemi read.
It was not immediately clear if Bankole had a lawyer. His spokesman, Idowu Bakare, previously issued a statement saying Bankole "never benefited" from his position, including taking a more than $66 million loan from United Bank for Africa PLC for his office.
From: http://ping.fm/hbHWd
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