Man accusing govt officials of diverting N3bn agric loan, arraigned

Nathan Tamarapreye, Bayelsa

The Police Command in Bayelsa on Friday said former General Manager of Radio Bayelsa, Mr John Idumange, who alleged that government officials diverted N3 billion agric loan has been arraigned.

Commissioner of Police in Bayelsa, Mr Mike Okoli, said on Friday that Idumange was charged to court on Thursday and no longer under Police detention.

On the whereabouts of Idumange, who had raised the alarm that the first tranche of the N3 billion loan obtained from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) amounting to N1.5 billion was diverted by Bayelsa government has been detained by the court.

“We have charged the man to court and it is no longer the police that is detaining him but the courts. So, asking if he is in my custody means that the police are detaining him; we took him to court and the court decided he should be remanded.

“Where he is remanded is the decision of the court, we are no longer detaining him, he is not before the court and where he is to be kept is at the discretion of the court,” Okoli said.

Checks at the police headquarters showed that Idumange, who was also an aide on Research and Documentation to former Governor Seriake Dickson was being interrogated by police detectives investigating the alleged sedition charge.

Idumange was arrested following report by Bayelsa government to the State Criminal Investigation Division (CID) on Wednesday and taken to court on Thursday evening.

Court documents showed that Chief Magistrate of Yenagoa Magisterial District 2, Mr Mirinn-John Tari, on Thursday evening remanded Idumange in custody for the next 30 days for sedition.

It was gathered that the detention order is to enable the police to conclude investigations into seditious publications and conduct likely to cause breach of public peace.

Idumange reportedly ran into troubled waters on Wednesday over allegations of embarrassing the state government with seditious posts on social media which compelled the government to make a formal report that led to his arrest.

He had before his arrest claimed that he submitted a petition showing how the fund was diverted to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for investigation.

The Bayelsa State governor, Douye Diri had on Monday dismissed Idumange’s allegations as a ploy to blackmail and arm twist his administration to get appointments.

Diri said: “Let me say it clearly before the full glare of the press that we are open to criticism if they are constructive but this one is entirely not based on facts, the funds is managed by CBN and warehoused at Access bank.

“The N3 billion is not in the treasury of Bayelsa government to be disbursed and the CBN has come here to say that no funds are missing. “I want to tell Chief Idumange that I am not the type of person to be blackmailed into giving out appointments.”