The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested Air Vice Marshal Rufus Adeniyi Ojuawo, a serving senior officer of the Nigerian Air Force.
AVM Ojuawo, was on Sunday, reportedly arrested by operatives of the EFCC at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, over his role in the alleged diversion of $2.1bn arms purchase funds.
Punch Newspapers reports that a Ojuawo was arrested while accompanying the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin, to a meeting of the United States Africa Command in Germany.
The Air Force officer was reportedly invited by the anti-graft agency some weeks ago and had even visited the Idiagbon House headquarters of the EFCC, where he was interrogated alongside the immediate past CDS, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (retd.), and was subsequently let go.
According to the report, Ojuawo was the Director of Operations when Badeh was the Chief of Air Staff.
A source was quoted to have said: “The event, which they were going to attend, was about the activities of the military in the fight against insurgency. AVM Ojuawo was the one that was supposed to deliver the keynote address on behalf of the Nigerian Air Force.
“However, a team of EFCC detectives stormed the airport and refused to allow him travel. All the senior military officers present pleaded with the detectives but they refused to listen. We explained to them that we had invested a lot of time and energy in putting together the report that Ojuawo was supposed to present.
“The Air Force had done feasibility studies on how to rehabilitate Internally Displaced Persons and was going to present the report in Germany.
“We promised them that immediately we were done with the event, Ojuawo would return and visit the EFCC but the detectives said he was a flight risk. How could he flee when he was in the entourage of the CDS?”
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