Babatunji Wusu –
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has called 20 senior directors and executives of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation for questioning, marking a significant step up in the probe against the ministry.
Investigators reportedly questioned a number of these officials on Thursday at the EFCC headquarters.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) delivered a thorough investigation report and recommendations pertaining to the ministry on Tuesday, and the EFCC is acting in response to those submissions.
A source, who spoke with Punch on Thursday, said, “The EFCC is also probing some officials in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs. Some director-generals and civil servants; about 20 of them, are being interrogated. Some have been quizzed, and more are still coming for interrogation as the investigation continues.”
Another source further revealed that the probe had been widened to uncover various financial improprieties that might have been carried out since the ministry was created in 2019.
The source stated, “The fraud that was carried out in the ministry is very massive. It spans several projects and programmes executed over the past years from the immediate past administration into the new administration. Also, ex-minister Sadiya, Betta Edu, and Halima Shehu are not the only ones being quizzed. Several civil servants and ministry officials were involved too.”
According to recent research, the continued cooperation between the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is expected to unearth additional cases of financial misconduct and other malpractices among civil servants that date back to the Buhari administration.
Significant progress has already been made as a result of this partnership; in July and August of 2023, the ICPC intercepted and recovered N50 billion from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.
The ICPC successfully recovered the funds, which were about to be embezzled, and they were then placed into the Central Bank of Nigeria.
This operation was especially noteworthy since the N50 billion had been attempted to be transferred by some officials into private bank accounts, but the ICPC, led by Bolaji Owasanoye, the former chairman, blocked their plans.
The current chairman of the ICPC, Musa Aliyu, SAN, recently gave the EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede, the investigation report on the ministry of humanitarian affairs, in a move that highlights the cooperation between the two anti-graft organizations.
The chairs and management personnel of both agencies were present during the meeting that took place at the EFCC headquarters.
The main goals of the meeting were to strengthen collaboration and coordinate actions in order to increase the effectiveness of Nigeria’s anti-corruption campaigns.
Aliyu underlined that this partnership signifies a strong commitment to the continued cooperation between the EFCC and ICPC and that it seeks to bolster the nation’s fight against corruption.
Declaring his willingness to assist the EFCC in its endeavors, Aliyu emphasized the ICPC’s pledge to end corruption in Nigeria under his direction.
He said, “We need to work together, and we cannot do this without a good relationship. That’s why I think I need to extend this hand of friendship to the EFCC so that we can effectively partner in the fight against corruption in Nigeria.
“I am aware that there’s an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) between the EFCC and ICPC. I’m willing and ready to partner whenever there’s any issue of interest in the fight against corruption.
“I’ll be reaching out to my brother and chairman of EFCC on issues I think we can partner with because there’s no need for us to be duplicating responsibilities, wasting resources and time. I hope with this first meeting, we are going to be meeting regularly to review what we are doing together.”
Olukoyede on his part concurred with the position of collaboration, saying the meeting had also presented an opportunity for the review of the existing MoU between the two agencies.
He said, “We have areas of similar mandates and with a population of about 250 million people, there’s so much in our hands and I can tell you that the enormity of the work demands that we work together.”
The head of EFCC added that recent occurrences showed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s political determination to combat corruption, which was sufficient motivation for anti-corruption authorities to perform to the best of their abilities.
According to sources, the ICPC report described in detail the different roles that a number of officials played in the failed attempt to divert the N50 billion that belonged to the National Social Investment Program Agency as well as other breaches.
The report is anticipated to support the EFCC’s investigation into the actions of former minister Sadiya Umar-Farouq, suspended national coordinator and CEO of the National Social Investment Programme, Ms. Halima Shehu, and minister of humanitarian affairs Betta Edu.
Edu is being investigated for authorising the transfer of N585m into the private account of an accountant in the ministry, Bridget Oniyelu, while Umar-Farouq, who served as a minister under previous President Muhammadu Buhari, is answering difficult questions over alleged N37bn money laundering.
Shehu, on the other hand, is being investigated for allegedly transferring N44 billion from the National Security Initiative into certain business and private accounts without the president’s consent.
