Rochas Okorocha, a presidential candidate and former governor of Imo State, is set to be arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before a Federal High Court in Abuja.
Okorocha, who currently represents Imo West senatorial district in the National Assembly, will be arraigned before Justice Inyang Ekwo on Monday in the nation’s capital.
The anti-corruption organisation has filed 17 counts of charges against him totaling N2.9 billion.
He has since denied any wrongdoing after being accused of conspiring with others, including a member of the APC and five companies, to steal from public coffers.
The scheduled arraignment of the former governor occurs three days after he was denied bail pending the outcome of a lawsuit he filed against the Federal Government.
He based his bail application on the fact that he was a presidential candidate, emphasising that his political ambitions would be jeopardised if he was not granted bail.
In a brief ruling on Okorocha’s bail application on Friday, Justice Ekwo stated that he was not inclined to grant the applicant bail.
Instead, the judge ordered Okorocha to notify the Federal Government to defend his detention.
Okorocha has been in EFCC custody since Tuesday of last week, when a team of operatives stormed his residence in the Maitama neighbourhood of Abuja to arrest him.
Later, the team barricaded the residence of the presidential candidate, Okorocha, after insisting that he must submit to arrest or accept a long-standing invitation to their office.
Following a series of dramatic events at the scene, gunshots were heard as the anti-corruption agency’s team broke into Okorocha’s home and took him to their office.