The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has successfully recovered N30 billion on behalf of the Federal Government.
Simultaneously, it has initiated investigations into 50 bank accounts as part of an ongoing probe involving the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, and the former chief executive officer of the now-suspended National Social Investment Programme Authority (NSIPA), Halima Shehu.
President Bola Tinubu suspended Edu and Shehu approximately three months ago due to allegations of financial misconduct.
Subsequently, Tinubu directed the EFCC to take charge of the case and thoroughly investigate both embattled officials and anyone else implicated.
Despite the complexity of the matter, the executive chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, disclosed on Monday that progress is being made in the investigation.
Olukoyede’s statements were featured in the March edition of the commission’s monthly e-magazine, EFCCAlert, which was obtained by journalists on Monday.
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.”
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