A former Energy Minister in Israel, Gonen Segev, has reportedly admitted contacts with Iran after being arrested in a suspected spying operation, local reports in Israel said.

Segev lived in Nigeria on a self-imposed exile after completing jail sentence for drugs offences in Israel in 2010. He worked as a medical official for Israeli diplomats and other Jewish expatriates around Abuja.

He was arrested in Equatorial Guinea last month and was extradited to Israel where he had been charged with spying for Iran, reports said.

It was not immediately clear if Nigeria played any role in his investigation and arrest. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defence Headquarters both declined comments to an online medium, PREMIUM TIMES, about the development for the most part of yesterday.

Mr Segev was reportedly lured to the Iranian Embassy in Abuja in 2012 under the guise of treating the children of its diplomatic staff, Israel’s Channel 10 news reported.

By taking up assignment with Iranians, Mr Gonen was reportedly hoping to mislead them and ultimately restore his reputation that was tarnished by his jail sentence, Channel 10 said.

“I wanted to fool the Iranians and come back to Israel a hero,” he was quoted as saying during his interrogation. He denied all allegations of wrongdoing and said he did not pass any sensitive intelligence to the Iranians during his contacts with them.