- Fresh Details Emerge..,
By Ken Afor
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has announced the recovery of N30 billion during its investigation into the National Social Investment Programme Authority (NSIPA), involving former CEO Halima Shehu and suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu.
Also, the anti-graft agency said it is investigating 50 bank accounts believed to have been used for money laundering.
This was disclosed on Monday by the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, in the March edition of the anti-graft agency’s monthly e-magazine, EFCCAlert.
He said: “We have laws and regulations guiding our investigations. Nigerians will also know that they are already on suspension and this is based on the investigations we have done, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has proved to Nigerians that he is ready to fight corruption.
“Moreover, with respect to this particular case, we have recovered over N30 billion, which is already in the coffers of the Federal Government. It takes time to conclude investigations; we started this matter less than six weeks ago.
“There are cases that take years to investigate. There are so many angles to it. And we need to follow through with some of the discoveries that we have seen. Nigerians should give us time on this matter; we have professionals on this case and they need to do things right. There are so many leads here and there.
“As it is now, we are investigating over 50 bank accounts that we have traced money into. That is no child’s play. That’s a big deal. Then you ask about my staff strength. And again, we have thousands of other cases that we are working on.”
TheNewDiplomat reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in January 2024 suspended Edu and Shehu over an alleged N585 million fraud in the Humanitarian ministry.
The monumental fraud in the ministry came into the limelight following a letter purportedly signed by Edu, requesting the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) to transfer the sum of N585.2 million as grants for vulnerable groups in four states to the account of a project officer in the ministry, Oniyelu Bridget.
The Accountant-General of the Federation, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Madein, clarified that her office did not honor the request, citing a violation of financial protocols.
The AGF emphasized that Edu’s request to transfer funds to a private account goes against established financial procedures.
In response to the widespread allegations, Edu denied the accusations, describing them as groundless fabrications orchestrated by her adversaries.
