The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said its agents jugged former parliament speaker Dimeji Bankole at his residence in the capital Abuja after he tried to resist arrest for more than four hours.
Bankole had told the agency he would hand himself in on Monday for questioning over allegations that he misappropriated tens of millions of dollars of parliamentary funds. But the EFCC said it believed he had other plans.
"An intelligence report ... showed that the former speaker was planning to leave Abuja for Lagos on Sunday evening and thereafter flee the country through an illegal route," EFCC front man Femi Babafemi said in a statement.
President
Goodluck Jonathan... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau...
, who was sworn in for his first full term in office a week ago, has been criticized along with his predecessors for doing too little to tackle endemic corruption in Africa's most populous nation.
Jonathan first came to power last year when his predecessor, Umaru Yar'Adua, died in office.
The EFCC has nabbed senior political figures in the past, including powerful former state governors, but the cases have often failed to end in prosecutions.
Babafemi said Bankole was wanted for questioning over allegations including the misappropriation of 9 billion naira ($60 million), the diversion of funds in a 2.3 billion naira car-buying scheme, and taking a 10-billion naira personal bank loan using parliament's account as collateral.