The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has disclosed that it has recovered N30 billion naira from the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu.
The anti-graft agency added that 50 bank accounts are under investigation in the ongoing investigation into the financial mismanagement allegation against the suspended Minister and the erstwhile chief executive officer of the now-suspended National Social Investment Programme Authority (NSIPA), Halima Shehu.
The EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, gave the update in the March edition of the commission’s monthly e-magazine, EFCCAlert, obtained by Naija News on Monday.
He added that the recovered amount has already been paid into the coffers of the federal government while investigations continue.
The anti-graft commission boss reiterated the commitment of President Bola Tinubu to fighting corruption.
He said: “We have laws and regulations guiding our investigations. Nigerians will also know that they are already on suspension and this is based on the
investigations we have done, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has proved to Nigerians that he is ready to fight corruption.
“Moreover, with respect to this particular case, we have recovered over N30 billion, which is already in the coffers of the Federal Government. It takes time to conclude investigations; we started this matter less than six weeks ago. There are cases that take years to investigate. There are so many angles to it. And we
need to follow through with some of the discoveries that we have seen. Nigerians should give us time on this matter; we have professionals on this case and they need to do things right. There are so many leads here and there.
“As it is now, we are investigating over 50 bank accounts that we have traced money into. That is no child’s play. That’s a big deal. Then you ask
about my staff strength. And again, we have thousands of other cases that we are working on.
“Nigerians have seen the impact of what we have done so far, by way of some people being placed on suspension and by way of the recoveries that we have made. You have seen that the programme itself has been suspended.
“We are exploring so many discoveries that we have stumbled upon in our investigation. If it is about seeing people in jail, well let them wait, everything has a process to follow. So Nigerians should wait and give us the benefit of the doubt.”
Both Edu and Shehu were suspended about three months ago by President Tinubu over alleged financial mismanagement in the Humanitarian Ministry and the NSIP.
Credit: NaijaNews