EFCC DETAINS WOMAN OVER HUSBAND'S OFFENCE

A 40-year-old mother of five, Mrs Fyne Ahanonu has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an alleged offence committed by her husband, Chief Samuel Ahanonu.

The anti-graft body, which came for the arrest of her husband over stealing, went for the woman instead when Ahanonu was nowhere to be found.

According to a petition to the Commission's Chairman, Mrs Farida Waziri from Olisa Agbakoba Chambers, a copy of which was made available to Sunday Sun, Mrs Ahanonu, who is also the administrator of Grace Well Secondary School, Orile Lagos, was picked up alongside her two daughters, Sandra and Iheanyi at her residence in Festac, Lagos but the children were later released same day.

The petition, which was personally signed by Agbakoba (SAN), reads in parts: 'When our client became apprehensive that operatives of the Commission were out to arrest her in lieu of her husband last year, she instituted a suit to enforce her fundamental rights.

'On December 7, 2009, the Hon Justice O.O.Okeke of the Lagos High Court, granted our client leave to enforce her fundamental rights and ordered the Commission to stay all actions on the matter, but the order was flouted without any steps taken to set it aside.

'When all efforts to secure our client's release failed, an application was made to the court in the pending suit and on October 12, 2010, Hon Justice D.T Okuwobi ordered that our client be released forthwith.

'A copy of the order was served on the Commission on October 13, 2010 and duly acknowledged but operatives at Lagos office refused to obey the order.'

Agbakoba described as unjustifiable, the decision to arrest a woman for an offence alleged to have been committed by her husband or detain her in defiance to two court orders. He said the action was a violation of two separate court orders and appealed to Mrs Waziri to direct her officers in Lagos to release Mrs Ahanonu in respect of her constitutional rights and in compliance with the court orders.

But when contacted, the Media Head of EFCC, Femi Babafemi acknowledged the matter and said Mrs Ahanonu was arrested and being detained because she is an accomplice to a case the agency is investigating. 'The wife of a late Customs officer petitioned and linked her with the selling and diversion of her late husband's property. She is an accomplice. We will charge her to court this week,' he said.