By Kolawole Ojebisi
At least five officials of the Katsina Internal Revenue are currently said to be in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged financial malfeasance.
These officials are said to have been arrested by operatives of the anti-graft agency for their alleged involvement in N1.3 billion fraud.
It was learnt that the five officials identified as Rabiu Abdullahi, Sanusi Mohammed Yaro, Ibrahim M. Kofar Soro, Ibrahim Aliyu and Nura Lawal Kofar Sauri, were picked up during the weekend.
The spokesman of the anti-graft agency, Dele Oyewale, who confirmed their arrest in Abuja on Tuesday, gave the amount of money allgedly diverted by the suspects as N1,294,337,676.53k.
Speaking on the development, Oyewale said they were arrested following a petition from the Katsina state government, which alleged that the suspects colluded and diverted the whooping sum of money.
According to him, the sum was accrued to the state government’s coffers from the World Health Organization(WHO), Medicins Sans Frontiers and Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA).
He explained, “Preliminary investigation by the commission showed that Rabiu Abdullahi, a former Director of Collections of the Board and current Permanent Secretary of the Board authorized the opening of a bank account in the name of ‘BOIRS’ at Sterling Bank where he allegedly designated Sanusi Mohammed Yaro, Director of Revenue Account and Ibrahim M. Kofar Soro as sole signatories to the account.
“Subsequently, the account became the primary channel through which all the funds were allegedly funneled to the main beneficiary NADIKKO General Suppliers, a company owned and controlled by Nura Lawal Kofar Sauri, an Assistant Director of Career Skills/Staff Welfare of the Board.
“Investigation further revealed that Nura Lawal and his company ”NADIKKO” became the principal conduits used to launder the stolen funds. These laundered funds were traced to the various bank accounts of the suspects.”
The EFCC spokesman said the suspects had been detained at the Kano Zonal Command of the commission, adding that they would be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.
