The Edo State House of Assembly on Thursday warned that it could order the arrest of former Governor Godwin Obaseki after he failed to appear before its ad hoc committee investigating the Museum of West African Art project and the Radisson Hotel development. The committee was created after Governor Monday Okpebholo asked lawmakers to look into how public funds were used for the projects and who controls them. The government had invested about N3.8bn in the museum and N28bn in the hotel.
Management of the museum had earlier refused to appear before the panel, and on Thursday the committee said it had the legal power to order security agencies to bring in anyone who refused to honour an invitation.
The panel also invited several former government officials and company heads connected to the projects, including a former finance commissioner, a former attorney general, and several managing directors of firms involved in the transactions.
At the resumed hearing, the committee chairman, Addeh Isibor, said Obaseki and others sent letters through their lawyers explaining why they were absent. Obaseki argued that court cases linked to the museum project were enough reason not to appear. The committee rejected the letters, saying no court order had stopped its work and that simply filing a suit did not halt its investigation.
Isibor noted that the panel was carrying out a fact-finding assignment and not a personal attack. He said those refusing to attend could not later claim they were denied a fair hearing. He also said the letters came without any court documents and accused the senders of trying to stall the probe.
He explained that the Assembly was not a party to the court cases and that no judge had issued any directive to stop the investigation. He added that the panel had the authority to direct the police to bring in anyone who continued to avoid appearing before it.
The probe follows public concerns that resurfaced after an exhibition at the museum on November 9 turned chaotic. A protest group claiming that the museum belonged to the Oba of Benin forced their way into the venue during a private event for investors, artists, and diplomats. The disturbance led to panic and the quick evacuation of foreign dignitaries, including ambassadors from the European Union and Germany, who were briefly trapped inside.
The committee said it would continue with its assignment and reach conclusions based on the information available, whether or not those invited chose to appear.