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By Goli Innocent
The Cross River police command has arrested Okoi Obono-Obla over allegations of certificate forgery and gaining entry into the legal profession under false pretences.
The former presidential adviser was apprehended on Thursday at Abuja Park in Ugep town following a petition submitted to the state commissioner of police.
Eitokpah Sunday, the state police spokesperson, clarified that Obono-Obla’s arrest was lawful, dismissing claims that he was kidnapped.
“The arrest was effected in accordance with extant laws and in the exercise of the constitutional and statutory powers of the Nigeria Police Force to investigate allegations of criminal conduct,” Sunday said.
Obono-Obla was taken to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Calabar, where investigations are ongoing.
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His legal counsel and family have been fully notified and are participating in the process.
The former presidential aide’s legal troubles date back years. In 2016, Muhammadu Buhari appointed him as special assistant to the president (prosecution) at the Federal Ministry of Justice.
He later chaired the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the recovery of public property (SPIP).
However, in August 2019, Buhari suspended Obono-Obla after the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) investigated alleged record falsification and financial impropriety.
Subsequent arrests, re-arraignments, and allegations included N10.1 million fraud and forging O-Level results to gain admission to study law at the University of Jos in the 1985/86 academic session.
With this latest arrest, the police assert that all legal procedures are being followed and that unverified claims of kidnapping or secret security involvement are entirely false.
