The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has taken decisive measures, successfully tracking and freezing N30 billion out of the N44 billion diverted from the accounts of the National Social Investment Programme Agency.
This development unfolded swiftly within 24 hours of the detention and arrest of Halima Shehu, the suspended National Coordinator of NSIPA, by the EFCC, following her suspension by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
According to Daily Post, an anonymous source provided insights on Wednesday, stating, “After hours of interrogation and profiling of many accounts, the EFCC confirmed that unauthorised N44 billion was suspiciously moved out of NSIPA’s account to some private and corporate accounts.”
The multiple accounts involved in this unauthorized transfer have been frozen as part of an ongoing probe.
The special team at the EFCC subjected Halima Shehu and NSIPA’s immediate past Director of Finance and Accounts, Bwai Adamu Hamza, who retired in December, to interrogation over the alleged fraud.
Following the tracking of cash movement, the EFCC successfully recovered and froze N30 billion linked to the illicit transactions. As of Tuesday, the agency had seized N17 billion, and within 24 hours, an additional N13 billion was traced and frozen in some accounts, bringing the total seized to N30 billion.
The N44 billion was reportedly moved suspiciously from NSIPA’s accounts to private and corporate accounts linked to individuals acting as fronts. The EFCC’s swift action highlights its commitment to addressing financial improprieties and ensuring accountability.
In a related development, former Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development minister, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, who worked alongside Halima Shehu, declined an invitation from the EFCC for interrogation.
The invitation is related to alleged money laundering totaling N37,170,855,753.44 during her tenure through a contractor, James Okwete. The former minister has denied the allegations.
