The Sokoto Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission top officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Zamfara State over the diversion of over N84 million meant for the payment of allowances for the staff who organised the 2019 elections in the state.
Those arrested by the EFCC are: Hassan Sidi Aliyu, AdministrativeSecretary, Hussain Jafar Head of Operations, Abdullahi Yusuf Abubakar State Accountant and Abdulmumin Usman.
The commission said in a statement made available to Vanguard last night that the suspects engaged in what is called a case of conspiracy, breach of trust and criminal diversion of money meant for INEC Adhoc staff.
The petitioner- one Abdullahi Nasiru- who wrote on behalf of all presiding officers that worked for INEC during the 2019 Presidential and Gubernatorial elections in Zamfara State, had alleged that ad-hoc staff were denied payment of their N6,000 movement allowance each for the two elections.
He further alleged that what the commission paid to them was different from what other states paid their Adhoc staff.According to him, INEC paid its staff the sum of N9000 in Zamfara while it paid a nearby state like Sokoto 12000.Investigation by the EFCC revealed that none of the 10,500 presiding officers who participated in the elections was paid their entitlements commutatively put at N84, 696,000.The statement by EFCC Spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, said that effort was being made by the Commission to recover the money criminally diverted by the three heads of departments in Zamfara INEC and the commission’s heads in the local governmnt areas of the state.The suspects in the LGAs are: Abdullahi Sambawa, Zurmi LGA; Aliyu Jafaru Goronyo, Maradun LGA; Balarabe Ahmed S Gobir, Gummi LGA; Amadu Ibrahim, Gusau LGA; Mohammed Bashir Musa, Kaura Namoda LGA; Dalhatu Usman Musa,Birnin Magaji LGA; Abdulmumin Usman, Maru LGA; MuhammadNasir Saidu, Talatu Mafara LGA; Abdullahi A. Ukashatu, Tsafe LGA; Tukur Garba Kaita, Bungudu LGA; Salihu Musa Abdullahi, Bukuyun LGA; Sadiq Abdullahi, Fari Anka LGA; Lawali Muhammed, Argungu Bakura LGA; Jafaru Gide, Shinkafi LGA; Tanimu Muhammad, Shinkafi LGA; Hassan Abdullahi,Shinkafi LGA.Uwujaren said that the suspects would be arraigned in court as soon as investigation was completed. Nigeria News
