The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has unraveled a N37 billion scam reportedly laundered in Sadiya Umar-Farouk’s Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development.
According to EFCC sources, the funds were transferred from the Federal Government’s coffers and transmitted to 38 distinct bank accounts held by a contractor, James Okwete, in five traditional commercial banks.
The EFCC alleged that Okwete transferred N6,746,034,000.00 to Bureau De Change Operators, withdrew N540,000,000.00 in cash, acquired luxury cars with N288,348,600.00, and purchased luxury mansions in Abuja and Enugu State with N2,195,115,000.00 after receiving the funds.
Okwete was allegedly linked to 53 firms, and he was also accused of using 47 of them to steal N27,423,824,339.86 in federal government contracts.
He is also tied to 143 bank accounts in 12 commercial banks, 134 of which are corporate accounts related to various companies.
Okwete is only a director in 11 of the 53 businesses investigated by the Corporate Affairs Commission, while the remaining 42 firms’ accounts are merely linked to his bank verification number as a signatory to the accounts.
The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation is the parent ministry for eight agencies, including the National Social Investment Office, the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, and the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internationally Displaced Persons.
Sadiya Umar-Farouq was the first Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development Minister.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari selected her as the youngest cabinet member in July 2019.
Her association with Buhari stretches back to his days as the leader and presidential candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), when she was the party’s national treasurer and then the All Progressives Congress’s national treasurer. President Buhari then nominated her as minister in 2019.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC), announced in 2020 that it had discovered N2.67 billion in private bank accounts earmarked for the Ministry’s School Feeding Programme.
Bolaji Owasanoye, the former ICPC Chairman, revealed that the Commission uncovered N2.67 billion in personal accounts, which were payments made to some federal colleges for school food during the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020.
He claimed that the money was given to children when they were not in school.
The ICPC also discovered 18 buildings, 12 business establishments, and 25 parcels of land.
According to Owasanoye, of the 268 ministries, departments, and agencies reviewed between January and August 15, 2020, 72 had cumulative infractions totaling N90 million.
Despite calls from the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, for Umar-Farouq to publish the details and names of the suspects in the bank accounts or face legal action, the former Minister refused to reveal their identities.
