The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared former Abia State commissioner, Christopher Enweremadu, and Abia resident, Fortune Ozoemela, wanted for alleged crimes including conspiracy, embezzlement of public funds, theft, and money laundering.

EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale announced this in a public notice shared on the agency’s website on Wednesday, September 3. Enweremadu was once the commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters during the administration of former Governor Okezie Ikpeazu. His last known office was the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Umuahia, Abia State.

According to the EFCC notice, 40-year-old Ozoemela, who is from Abia State, was last traced to 122 Ozoemila’s Compound, Amakama Olokoro, Umuahia. Oyewale appealed to Nigerians with information about their location to reach out to any EFCC zonal office in states like Ibadan, Uyo, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Benin, Makurdi, Kaduna, Ilorin, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Gombe, Port Harcourt, or Abuja.

Although the EFCC did not release detailed information on the financial transactions linked to Enweremadu, his name has come up in the investigation of how funds meant for Abia’s 17 local government councils were handled.

Back in December 2024, a High Court in Abuja ordered the EFCC to investigate the distribution of funds to local councils in Abia between 2019 and 2023. The court also directed that the international passports of Enweremadu, former aide Erondu Uchenna Erondu, and permanent secretary Joy Nwanju should be seized.

The court order followed a petition by an activist who alleged that billions of naira meant for local government projects in Abia State were diverted under the supervision of these officials.