This came as the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, a civil society organization, challenged the anti-graft agency to either free Okechukwu or charge him in court.

According to the PUNCH, Okechukwu was arrested on January 29, 2022, for conspiracy, abuse of power, and misappropriation of public funds totaling N1.3 billion.

He had gone to the anti-graft agency’s Abuja headquarters to honor an invitation, but he was later detained.

However, when contacted on Saturday, EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, PUNCH correspondent that Okechukwu had been released. “He was released on Monday,” Uwujaren said.

Earlier, HURIWA, in a statement had asked the EFCC to be law-abiding and civil by immediately releasing Okechukwu.

The group’s National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, had said this in a statement titled, ‘HURIWA Asks EFCC to release Chief Osita Okechukwu or charge him to court immediately.

The statement read in part, “Detaining Osita Okechukwu arbitrarily and indefinitely violates Constitutional provision in Section 34 which gives him right to respect to her human dignity.”

The group had called on the EFCC to “release Okechukwu or produce him in the competent court of law to prosecute him legally because Nigeria is not the Banana Republic”.