I Wasn’t Grilled, Only Visited ICPC To Assure Of Cooperation On Corruption Probe
The Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority (ECTDA) has dismissed reports suggesting that its chairman was ‘grilled’ by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over alleged financial misappropriation, describing the claims as completely false.
ECTDA expressed its astonishment at the claims, stating that it had not received any correspondence to that effect.
Sir Gideon Udo Onyia, Director and Head of Administration of the agency, claimed that the ICPC had indeed contacted their office, requesting an officer of the agency and some documents.
Onyia cited parts of a letter from the ICPC dated March 13, 2025, with the reference number ICPC/ENU/INV/038/Vol.1/2025, which he noted was explicit.
The letter states: “The Commission wishes to inform you that the above referenced letters are yet to be complied with by your Authority and the Officer invited to come along with documents relevant to our investigation from your office also refused to attend to our legitimate invitation.”
He further explained that the agency responded by instructing the commission to route their correspondence through the appropriate channel.
“Rather than doing that, the ICPC sent another letter on April 7, 2025, with reference number ICPC/ENU/INV/001/Vol2/2025, inviting our Chairman over complaints related to alleged violations of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, which is not what has been reported by those spreading false information.
“As a responsible organisation, we replied on April 9, stating: ‘The said letter which was received after the close of official working hours on April 8, 2025, is by implication received officially “TODAY” April 9, 2025, the same date for appearing before your Commission for interview alongside other specified personnel outside our office. Obviously, it is very difficult to meet your invitation, considering your timeline.’
“However, this genre of invitation that concerns Government Officials, are to be channelled through the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), who will in turn initiate the appropriate processes that will lead to the release of the concerned Government official(s) along with relevant official documents as may be required by your Commission.”
When approached for comments, the Chairman of ECTDA, Anya stated, “How could I have been grilled for almost 24 hours when I’m not under any form of investigation?”
He elaborated, “What happened was that the commission had written to our office stating they were investigating my office from 2019 to 2023 (prior to my appointment) and that they needed some documents from me as Chairman to facilitate their investigation.
“I wrote back, indicating that they should direct the letter through the appropriate authority, as we cannot release government documents just like that. They responded, asserting their entitlement to collect any document or take action against anyone obstructing their investigation, claiming my failure to provide the documents amounted to obstruction.
“Following this, they sent another letter expressing their displeasure which amounts to obstructing their investigation, and this led to their invitation letter on April 7, to which my office responded accordingly.”
Anya concluded by stating that in an effort to mitigate the tension arising from the exchanges, he opted to pay a courtesy visit to the management of the ICPC to assure them that they would comply with their requests, provided they followed the appropriate channel. He reiterated that the notion of being ‘grilled’ is unfounded.
However, a source within the ICPC confirmed to SaharaReporters that Anya was invited over corruption allegations.
