Governor Dapo Abiodun, has suspended his aide, Abidemi Rufai, who was arrested in the United States for an alleged $350,000 COVID-19 unemployment fraud.
It was reported that Kunle Somorin, Chief press secretary, confirmed the suspension on Tuesday.
“Our position is that the law should take its course,” Mr Somorin said in a Whatsapp interview.
“The governor has ordered his immediate suspension from office to answer charges against him.”
Sources within the government reported that the governor took action immediately he was briefed about Rufai’s arrest.
Recall that KFN earlier reported Rufai, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Abiodun, was arrested last Friday, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York before boarding a flight to Amsterdam.
He is scheduled for a detention hearing Wednesday. The money wired is said to be unemployment benefits from the Washington State Employment Security Department.
According to the United States Department of Justice, this newspaper understands that wire fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in prison when it relates to benefits paid in connection with a presidentially-declared disaster or emergency, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
