The Cross River State Police Command has arrested Okoi Obono-Obla, a former special assistant to the president on prosecution, over allegations of forgery and gaining entry into the legal profession by false pretence.
In a statement on Thursday, Eitokpah Sunday, the state police spokesperson, said Obono-Obla was “lawfully arrested” around Abuja Park in Ugep, Cross River. The arrest followed a petition submitted to the state commissioner of police concerning claims that the former presidential aide falsified documents to gain professional qualification as a lawyer.
Sunday dismissed reports suggesting that Obono-Obla had been kidnapped. “The arrest was effected in accordance with extant laws and the constitutional powers of the Nigeria Police Force to investigate criminal allegations,” he said. He added that Obono-Obla has been taken to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Calabar, where investigations are ongoing. His legal team and relatives have been notified and are participating in the process.
Obono-Obla was appointed in 2016 as special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari and later chaired the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIP). He was suspended in August 2019 following investigations by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over alleged financial impropriety and record falsification.
He has a history of legal scrutiny, including arrests and rearraignments by ICPC in 2020 and 2021, related to alleged fraud of N10.1 million and the alleged forgery of O’Level results used to study law at the University of Jos in 1985/86.
