The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has made substantial progress in its investigations into the alleged misappropriation of funds in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs. The anti-graft agency has reportedly recovered over N30 billion from the N37,170,855,753.44 allegedly laundered during the tenure of former minister Sadiya Umar-Farouk.
Sources within the EFCC revealed that the recovery was made possible by placing a lien on the bank accounts of Umar-Farouk and a contractor, James Okwete, linked to the fraudulent activities. Both the former minister and the contractor are currently under investigation and being questioned by EFCC investigators.
The fraudulent transactions, initially reported by Saturday PUNCH in December, involved the transfer of N37.1 billion to 38 different bank accounts associated with James Okwete. The ongoing investigation has also uncovered over N500 million linked to Betta Edu, the successor of Umar-Farouk, who was recently suspended by President Bola Tinubu.
The EFCC is actively grilling Edu in connection with an alleged N17 billion fraud. Simultaneously, the suspended Coordinator of the National Social Investment Programme, Halima Shehu, is under investigation for an alleged N44 billion fraud.
A senior EFCC investigator stated, “We have uncovered another N17 billion money laundering from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, and for the alleged fraud linked to the suspended minister, Betta Edu, we have so far recovered over N500 million. Edu is still answering questions about the fraud. The NSIPA coordinator, Halima Shehu, is still being grilled over the N44 billion fraud linked to her at the NSIPA; our investigators aren’t leaving any stone unturned.”
When approached for comments, the EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, declined to provide further information.
In a related development, the EFCC disclosed that it had recovered a total of N70,556,658,370.5 between October 2023 and January 19, 2024. The recoveries included N60,969,047,634.25, $10,522,778.57, £150,002.10, and €4,119.90. During this period, the EFCC received 3,325 petitions, accepted 2,657 of them, and secured the conviction of 747 persons for financial crimes.
The Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, stated that the majority of the convictions were related to cybercrime offences. The EFCC also emphasized its commitment to deepening investigations into money laundering cases involving high-profile public officials, with the total amount involved in such cases reaching around N130.1 billion as of January 31, 2024.
