A lawyer currently working for the Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa of the PDP on his case at the Election Tribunal, has lost a whooping N44 million to theft.
Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa
It was learnt at the weekend that a senior counsel in the defence team of Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has lost $200,000 in a popular hotel in Asaba, the Delta State capital.
According to The Nation, the black market value of the stolen money was about N44.6 million, but the Delta State Commissioner of Police, Baba Alkali Usman, confirmed to the media that $100,000 was stolen. It was unclear what the money was meant for.
The three-man panel of the State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal led by Justice Nasir Gunmi is set to deliver judgment today in the two petitions by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Labour Party (LP) challenging the declaration of Okowa of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the April 11, 2015 governorship election by the independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The defence lawyers to the governor were lodged at the hotel adjacent to the tribunal throughout the duration of the election petition.
The lead lawyers in the defence team are: Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN) representing Okowa (the first respondent); Mr. A.T. Kehinde (SAN) for the PDP and Damien Dodo (SAN) for the third respondent (INEC).
It was learnt that the money was stolen from Chalet 111 in the hotel, where one of the lawyers resided. It was learnt that four suspects – two females and two males, were arrested and detained by the police over the theft.
Of the four, a female believed to be the girlfriend of one of the suspects was also arrested. Investigations are ongoing on the crime but there is no major headway yet.