The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested a former Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Moses Thomas Sule, along with 14 former lawmakers over allegations of money laundering and abuse of office.
The anti-graft agency said the arrest followed a series of petitions by concerned citizens, accusing the ex-lawmakers of violating the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, as well as flouting procurement laws during their brief six-month tenure.
A statement released by the EFCC on its official social media platforms revealed that the state government had procured luxury vehicles worth N2.5 billion for the former legislators during their time in office.
However, upon their exit, the lawmakers allegedly failed to return the vehicles to the state government, despite several official efforts to recover them.
“The said vehicles were meant to be returned to the state government, but were instead taken away by the former lawmakers,” the EFCC said. “All efforts to retrieve them have proved abortive.”
Due to the impasse, the Plateau State Government was forced to purchase another fleet of official vehicles for the current members of the Assembly, reportedly at an additional cost of about N2 billion.
The arrested lawmakers include Gwottson Fom, Sani Abubakar, Jwe Philip Gwom, Thomas Dantong, Happiness Mathew Akawu, Cornelius Dotyok, Agbalak Ibrahim, Danjuma Azi,
Fwangje Bala Ndat, Salome Tanimu Wanglet, Namba Rimuyat, Nimchak Rims, Ishaku Maren, and Paul Datugun.
The EFCC confirmed that the suspects are currently in custody and will be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations.
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