CITIZENS COMPASS – Hours after the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) re-arraigned the Kwara State Governor, Abdul-Fatah Ahmed, over alleged N5.78bn fraud, statistics have shown that he is one of the high-profile individuals the EFCC dragged before courts within one year after President Bola Tinubu appointed the agency’s boss, Ola Olukoyede.
Data gathered from media reports and investigations by our correspondents between October 18, 2023 and October 18, 2024, showed that aside from Ahmed, the agency has arrested and prosecuting three other former governors and two ex-power and former Aviation ministers for alleged financial improprieties.
Also, the statistics showed that EFCC is investigating three former ministers, the former National Coordinator of the National Social Investment Programme, (NISP) Halima Shehu, and the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) ex-chairman, Jalal Arabi, over alleged fraud and other related offenses while serving in public office.
From the data obtained by our correspondent on Wednesday, three former governors battling to get off the Olukoyede-led EFCC hook through courts were Yahaya Bello of Kogi state, Willie Obiano of Anambra and Darius Ishaku of Taraba state who were accused by the anti-graft agency of alleged fraud and other financial improprieties.
Ishaku, who was apprehended alongside former permanent secretary, Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in the state, Bello Yero, who were dragged before Justice S. C Oriji of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja on a 15-count charge, bordering on criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, and conversion of public funds in the state to the tune of N27 billion.
Meanwhile, Ishaku’s Kogi counterpart, Yahaya Bello, is facing prosecution in two different courts, one before the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, which is being presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite.
The immediate governor of Kogi is being prosecuted alongside three other suspects, Ali Bello, (his nephew and current Chief of Staff to Governor Usman Ododo), Dauda Suleiman, and Abdulsalam Hudu on 19- count charges bordering on money laundering of over N80 billion.
A different prosecution of the former governor alongside Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu is also taking place before Justice Maryanne Anenih on 16-count charges bordering on money laundering and criminal breach of trust worth N110.4 billion.
The Kwara ex-governor, who is being prosecuted alongside former Commissioner for Finance, Ademola Banu, appeared before the court on Monday with a 12-count charge bordering on money laundering and mismanagement of public funds to the tune of N5.7 billion hanging on his neck.
They were re-arraigned after the transfer of the former trial judge, Justice Evelyn Anyadike of the Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, to another division.
Within the period under review, the agency arraigned the Anambra state former governor, Obiano, before Federal High Court in Abuja over alleged money laundering, diversion of funds and others amounting to about N4 billion.
For the power ministers under prosecution, Saleh Mamman, who served under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, between 2019 and 2021, was dragged before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja by the agency on 12-count charges bordering on conspiracy to commit money laundering of over N33 billion.
One of Mamman’s predecessors, Olu Agunloye, who served in the ministry under Obasanjo’s administration, is being prosecuted on seven-count charges by the anti-corruption agency bordering on official corruption and fraudulent award of Mambilla Power Project contract to the tune of $6 billion to Sunrise Power and Transmission Ltd.
Also arraigned by the agency is Hadi Sirika, the immediate Aviation minister, who was dragged before court alongside his brother, Ahmed Sirika, over alledged N5.8 billion fraud under the President Buhari administration.
While the EFCC’s legal counsels battle to get judgement that favours the agency on the cases being prosecuted by the agency across different courts, the anti-graft personnels are completing investigations on three ministers including the ex-Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, in President Buhari’s government, Sadiya Umar-Farouk, who is being investigated over her involvement in a whopping N37 billion that was allegedly misappropriated under her watch.
Also being investigated by the Olukoyede-led EFCC was former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, a former national Woman leader for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Edu, who has been suspended by President Bola Tinubu, is being investigated over her alleged involvement in the diversion of N585.2 billion of public funds, meant for the alleviation of poverty among Nigerians by the federal government.
Another ex-minister under EFCC probe is Charles Ugwuh, who served the country in Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and Geoffrey Ekenma, over alleged conspiracy and fraud amounting to N3.6billion.
Not limiting its investigations to the former governors and ministers, the agency has gone after a former National Coordinator of the National Social Investment Programme (NISP), Halima Shehu, investigating her involvement in N44.8 billion fraud.
Also, NAHCON’s former boss, Jalal Arabi, who was sacked by President Bola Tinubu barely a year after his appointment, was alleged to have engaged in fraud and other gross misconduct that characterised the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
Arabi was said to have been detained by EFCC over irregularities that were discovered in the commission’s spending under his watch with EFCC tracing 25 million Saudi Riyal (worth N10 billion) to different private companies’ accounts inside the country and abroad.
A breakdown of the funds discovered by the anti-graft agency to have left the commission to different private firms, sources said, was 17.8 million Saudi Riyal (about N7.5 billion) and 8.3 million Saudi Riyal (about N3.5 billion).
