Details of what brought former Kaduna State Senator and civil rights activist, Mr Shehu Sani, into trouble with Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and resulting in his Tuesday’s arrest and detention, emerged last night.

The vocal former lawmaker had reportedly used the name of Chairman of EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Magu, to collect $30,000 from a popular car dealer in the state with an assurance to shield him and his company from any form of inquiry by the anti-graft agency.

However, it was gathered that the cash payment soon became a source of anger between Sani and the car dealer and eventually drew the attention of Magu and EFCC.

A source familiar with the illicit deal said that although the car dealer had opted to close the matter after ‘forgiving’ Sani and writing off the balance of $5000 with the refund of $25,000, Magu insisted on arresting and investigating the former lawmaker for extortion and name dropping so as to serve as a deterrent to others.

Magu and his agency insisted on arresting Sani following his refusal to honour what a source described as numerous invitations sent to him by the agency.

The former senator is also said to have declined to pick his calls or respond to text messages sent to him by operatives of the anti-graft agency over the development.

An operative said on Tuesday that it was on the basis of his refusal to honour previous invitations that they stormed his home and arrested him for interrogation.

“The former Senator is with us as we speak and he is going to be with us even up to the New Year and we hope to grill him on various issues of interest to us,” an official of the anti-graft agency said on Tuesday.

Asked to disclose the exact amount reportedly taken from victims by the former lawmaker, the source declined to be specific, pointing out that the figure would be made known after interrogation of the former Central Kaduna Senator.

Vanguard