Pastor Christian Duru, the Secretary of Imo State Artisan Association, (ISARTA), is currently cooling off in the custody or the Department of State Security (DSS) for allegedly defrauding the state government of the sum of N30 million over an alleged shady land transaction involving 4.5 hectares said to belong to the association.
His arrest was prompted by a petition written by the State Commissioner for Industry, Mines and Solid Minerals, Ernest Ibejiako, over the alleged fraudulent act.
The commissioner, in his petition, stated that Imo State branch of the Artisan Association claimed that in 2017, it paid N40 million to the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Solid Minerals for the allocation of 4.5 hectares of land which was said to have been allocated at different prices.
The petition disclosed that the association presented a receipt of N8 million, which during investigation, was confirmed to be a forged document.
It further alleged that the remaining N22 million was fraudulently covered by an affidavit instead of an official government treasury receipt, thereby raising doubts over the transaction.
In his statement, Pastor Duru admitted that the money in question was handed over to undisclosed individuals at a local hotel which the petitioner said further suggested serious misconduct.
The commissioner, following the development, reiterated that the state government is determined to recover all property belonging to it from hands of fraudulent elements.
Ibejiako announced that the land allocated to ISARTA has been revoked pending on the payment of the N30 million to the state treasury account while the secretary of the association, Pastor Duru, will be prosecuted in court as soon as investigation is completed.
