E-Paper
Nigerian anti-corruption agency ready to arrest bank debtors
With the week-long ultimatum given to loan defaulters expiring, Nigeria's anti-corruption agency has said it plans to arrest debtors of five major banks who had secured debts in a fraudulent manner and had failed to pay up.
With the week-long ultimatum given to loan defaulters expiring, Nigeria's anti-corruption agency has said it plans to arrest debtors of five major banks who had secured debts in a fraudulent manner and had failed to pay up.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said that the arrests will be made because the debtors had procured loans in a fraudulent manner.
EFCC chairman Farida Waziri told a press conference that the agency would go ahead and arraign in court some of the chief executives of banks, already under arrest, adding that "the debtors could be prosecuted for conspiring with the banks' directors".
She said some loans were given without collaterals while some banks used fictitious names to give loans.
The EFCC boss flew into Lagos with one hundred policemen from Abuja for arresting the debtors who took USD 4.7 billion loans from five troubled banks.
Former bank chiefs Sebastin Adigwe of Afribank, Okey Nwosu of Finbank and Barth Ebong of Union Bank are already in detention, while another two Cecilia Ibru of Oceanic Bank and Erastus Akingbola of Intercontinental Bank have been put under the 'wanted list'.
Akingbolu is said to have fled to London while the whereabouts of Ibru is unknown.
