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EFCC Summons 20 Directors, Others From Humanitarian Ministry
EFCC has summoned 20 Directors and other officials from the Humanitarian Ministry.
The Publisher Nigeria a reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has summoned 20 senior directors and officials in a significant escalation of the investigation into the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation for questioning.
This Nigeria news platform understands that several of these officials were reportedly interrogated by investigators at the EFCC headquarters on Thursday.
This move by the EFCC comes as a follow-up to a comprehensive investigation report and recommendations regarding the ministry, which were submitted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Tuesday.
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.”
Recent findings have revealed that the ongoing collaboration between the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is set to uncover more instances of financial misconduct and other malpractices among civil servants, dating back to the Buhari administration.
This collaboration has already yielded significant results, with the ICPC intercepting and recovering N50 billion from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs between July and August 2023.
The funds, which were on the brink of being embezzled, were successfully recovered by the ICPC and subsequently deposited into the Central Bank of Nigeria.
This operation was particularly notable as some officials had attempted to channel the N50 billion into private bank accounts, but their efforts were thwarted by the ICPC under its former Chairman, Bolaji Owasanoye.
In a recent development that underscores the synergy between the two anti-graft agencies, the current ICPC chairman, Musa Aliyu, SAN, presented the investigation report on the humanitarian affairs ministry to the EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede.
This exchange took place at a meeting held at the EFCC headquarters, which included the chairmen and management staff of both agencies.
The meeting focused on enhancing cooperation and synergizing efforts to amplify the impact of Nigeria’s anti-corruption initiatives.
Aliyu emphasized that this collaboration aims to strengthen the country’s fight against corruption and marked a solid commitment to the ongoing relationship between the EFCC and ICPC.