BREAKING: Former Anambra Governor Is Dead
A former Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano, has reportedly passed away in London, the United Kingdom.
Naija News House learnt that Obiano passed away after battling “severe heart failure and complications related to urinary cancer.”
According to a senior family source, “His health had been declining in the past months, but the final collapse came suddenly. We are devastated.”
Medical officials in London also confirmed that Obiano was receiving intensive care before his condition worsened.
“He fought till the very last moment,” a hospital insider said.
Naija News House reported in July that the Federal High Court, Abuja, fixed November 25 for the trial of Obiano, in the alleged money laundering charge to the tune of N4billion.
The nine-count charge, preferred against the former governor by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), was re-assigned to Justice Mohammed Umar recently.
Obiano served as the Anambra State governor between March 2014 and March 2022.
The former governor, in the charge, was alleged to have among others, misappropriated over N4 billion from the state’s treasury.
It would be recalled that the EFCC’s lawyer, Sylvanus Tahir, SAN, led two witnesses in evidence in the trial of the ex-governor on October 7, 2024, before Justice Ekwo.
A former commercial bank staff, Mr Ugochukwu Otubelu, had revealed how he managed the security vote account under Obiano’s government.
Otubelu, the 3rd prosecution witness (PW-3), said though he was with the bank between November 2, 2008 and March 24, 2023, he is now a businessman.
The witness said, the signatories to the security vote account were the former Principal Secretary to the ex-governor, Willy Nwokoye, and the Accountant, Theophilus Nweze, adding that, he interfaced with them mostly on daily and weekly basis in processing their transactions.
