- By Halimah Olamide
Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has disclosed that no less than N30bn has been recovered from the ongoing investigations into alleged misappropriation of funds under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs before the suspension of Dr. Betta Edu.
Olukoyede, in the latest edition of the EFCC Alert, the commission’s e-magazine, said that it has taken about six weeks of investigations into the matter which also led to the suspension of the former chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Programme Authority (NSIPA), Ms. Halima Shehu.
The EFCC chairman revealed that in its investigation, no fewer than 50 bank accounts are under its radar with many individual and corporate organisations involved.
“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 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,” he said.
Lamenting over the corrupt tendencies of many Nigerians, Olukoyede wondered the reason for people to seek so much wealth in so criminal ways, adding that this is also the source of rising crimes in the society.
“If you buy a Lamborghini, where is
the road to drive it in Nigeria? Build houses and mansions in your village, will you have the courage and audacity to go and sit there without fear of kidnap or abduction? Those are the issues we are talking about,” he added
Olukoyede said his commission is on a war path with cybercriminals noting that the way against corruption is on many fronts.
“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.”