EFCC Discovers N37bn Fraud
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has uncovered a massive fraud of N37,170,855,753.44 in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs. This fraud involves the former minister, Sadiya Umar-Farouk, and a contractor named James Okwete.
The Details
In the ongoing investigation, authorities are actively tracing the movement of funds as they discover that someone actively took money from the government’s funds and actively transferred it to 38 different bank accounts directly linked to James Okwete. He then used this money for various personal expenses, such as buying luxury cars and houses.
Okwete’s Involvement
James Okwete actively maintains connections with 53 different companies, leveraging 47 of them to actively secure government contracts amounting to N27,423,824,339.86. Furthermore, he actively holds 143 bank accounts spread across 12 different banks, with 134 of these accounts actively serving as corporate accounts linked to various companies.
The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs
The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs is responsible for overseeing several agencies, including the National Social Investment Office and the National Commission for Refugees. Sadiya Umar-Farouk was the former minister of this department.
Umar Farouk’s Background
Sadiya Umar-Farouk has a long history of working with President Buhari. She was appointed as the youngest cabinet member in July 2019. Before that, she held positions in the Congress for Progressive Change and the All Progressives Congress.
The EFC C’s Findings
According to the EFCC document, James Okwete received a total of N37,170,855,753.44 from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs between 2018 and 2023. The individual actively utilized this money for personal expenses and actively secured government contracts with it.
Previous Fraud Cases
In 2020, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) uncovered another case of fraud in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs. They actively discovered N2.67bn in private bank accounts, funds intended for the ministry’s school feeding program.
ICP C’s Discoveries
The ICPC also found 18 buildings, 12 business premises, and 25 plots of land connected to this fraud case. They actively argued that the money was paid for school feeding during the COVID-19 lockdown, even though the children were not actively attending school.
Transparency and Accountability
Despite requests from organizations like the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, Sadiya Umar-Farouk has not revealed the names of the suspects involved in these fraud cases.
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