Sources Gives Update As EFCC Summons 20 Directors, Others From Humanitarian Ministry

In a significant escalation of the investigation into the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has summoned 20 senior directors and officials of the ministry for questioning.

Naija News 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.

Expressing his readiness to support the EFCC’s efforts, Aliyu highlighted the ICPC’s commitment under his leadership to eradicate corruption in Nigeria.

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 EFCC boss also said that the political will of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to fight corruption, as demonstrated in recent events, was enough boost for anti-corruption agencies to give their best.

Sources said the ICPC report detailed the various roles played by several officials in the aborted move to divert the N50bn belonging to the National Social Investment Programme Agency and other infractions.

The report is expected to assist the EFCC in its investigation of the suspended humanitarian affairs minister, Betta Edu, ex-minister Sadiya Umar-Farouq, and Ms Halima Shehu, the suspended National Coordinator and CEO of the National Social Investment Programme, an agency under the humanitarian ministry.

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 former President Muhammadu Buhari, is answering tough questions over alleged N37bn money laundering.

Shehu, on the other hand, is under probe for allegedly moving N44bn NSIP funds into some private and corporate accounts without presidential approval.