Alleged Fraud: EFCC Issues Wanted Notice for Former Abia Commissioner and Associate 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has announced that Christopher Enweremadu, former Abia State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, and Fortune Ozoemela are wanted in connection with alleged criminal conspiracy, misappropriation of public funds, theft, and money laundering. 

EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale made the announcement in a statement posted on the commission’s website on Wednesday.

Enweremadu’s last known address was reported as the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Umuahia, Abia State, where he served under ex-Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.

He also stated that Ozoemela, 40 years-old, is an indigene of Abia State and the last known address is 122 Ozoemila’s compound Amakama Olokoro Umuahia Abia State.

He urged anyone with useful information about their locations to report to any of its zonal offices in Ibadan, Uyo, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Benin, Makurdi, Kaduna, Ilorin, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Gombe, Port Harcourt, or Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the EFCC’s fresh wanted notice did not give details of the transactions tied directly to Enweremadu.

Enweremadu is linked to an investigation into the management of funds allocated to Abia’s 17 local government councils.

In December 2024, a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja ordered a probe into allocations to the LGAs between 2019 and 2023 and directed the EFCC to submit its findings.

The court also ordered the seizure of international passports belonging to Enweremadu, Erondu Uchenna Erondu (a former aide to Governor Ikpeazu), and Deaconess Joy Nwanju, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters.

The court’s decision followed an ex parte application filed by an activist who alleged that billions of naira meant for Abia’s local governments was diverted under the supervision of the officials.

NAN