These coordinated raids and its aftermath have now yield the investigators a big fish in the person of Osaze Osemwingie Ero
Mr Osaze Osemwingie Ero, the Culture and Tourism Commissioner in Edo State, midwestern Nigeria, has set the social media bubbling. Over the last summer through to the autumn, dozens of cultists, human traffickers and their collaborators were arrested in various cities and towns in Italy. In November alone, 32 of them were nabbed. Investigators in Italy desirous of getting to the root in the upswing of cultism and human trafficking involving Nigerians (they now dubbed them as Nigerian Mafia) in the country, put out names on the Interpol watchlist.
These coordinated raids and its aftermath have now yield the investigators a big fish in the person of Osaze Osemwingie Ero. The social media have been inundated with reports that Ero was arrested in France for money laundering. He was alleged to be in possession of $2million at the time of arrest.
AfroLife findings have now debunked these reports as baseless. Ero was arrested all right but in Amsterdam. He was reined in by Interpol at the behest of the Italian authorities in their quest to unravel the lingering menace of Nigeria’s cultists in Italy. The arrest of Ero is linked to intelligence gathered from the suspected cultists now in the net of the Italian authorities. The arrest took Ero unawares as he was never in the know that his name was on Interpol’s watchlist.
The Edo government headed by Mr Godwin Obaseki, since word of the arrest surfaced in the social media, has been trying to shake it off. The government could not confirm the arrest of the commissioner but was quick to disassociate itself from the unfolding drama.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Crusoe Osagie, said in a statement that, “we learnt about the alleged arrest of Osaze Osemwingie-Ero from the social media and we are unable to confirm either the arrest or what might have led to it. But we can confirm that whatever the issues might be, they are personal and have nothing whatsoever to do with the Edo State Government or Governor Obaseki.”
These coordinated raids and its aftermath have now yield the investigators a big fish in the person of Osaze Osemwingie Ero. The social media have been inundated with reports that Ero was arrested in France for money laundering. He was alleged to be in possession of $2million at the time of arrest.
AfroLife findings have now debunked these reports as baseless. Ero was arrested all right but in Amsterdam. He was reined in by Interpol at the behest of the Italian authorities in their quest to unravel the lingering menace of Nigeria’s cultists in Italy. The arrest of Ero is linked to intelligence gathered from the suspected cultists now in the net of the Italian authorities. The arrest took Ero unawares as he was never in the know that his name was on Interpol’s watchlist.
The Edo government headed by Mr Godwin Obaseki, since word of the arrest surfaced in the social media, has been trying to shake it off. The government could not confirm the arrest of the commissioner but was quick to disassociate itself from the unfolding drama.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Crusoe Osagie, said in a statement that, “we learnt about the alleged arrest of Osaze Osemwingie-Ero from the social media and we are unable to confirm either the arrest or what might have led to it. But we can confirm that whatever the issues might be, they are personal and have nothing whatsoever to do with the Edo State Government or Governor Obaseki.”
