EFCC interrogates bank CEOs over financial irregularities with Humanitarian Affairs Ministry

EFCC interrogates bank CEOs over financial irregularities with Humanitarian Affairs Minister

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday, reportedly invited the Chief Executive Officers of three banks for interrogation over alleged financial irregularities uncovered in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

The anti-graft agency was said to have invited the bank executives after it had quizzed and detained the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu, for allegedly directing the payment of the sum of N585.189 million grant meant for vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ogun and Lagos States, into the private bank account of one Bridget Mojisola Oniyelu.

An official of the Commission who confirmed the development on the condition of anonymity, told newsmen the bank executives were invited to explain the involvement of their financial institutions with the fraud.

“I can tell you that the CEOs and MDs of three banks were invited for interrogation by our interrogators here at the headquarters,” the official said.

“They were invited to the headquarters for questioning in connection with the probe of Betta Edu, Halima Shehu and Sadiya Umar-Farouq, and are being probed in connection with some of the financial irregularities uncovered in the humanitarian affairs ministry.

“It was a routine invitation to the banks. The Commission is asking them to provide information on some customers of the bank who are direct beneficiaries of the disbursements of the grants by the humanitarian affairs ministry.

“The suspended minister and the suspended Co-ordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Programme Agency, Halima Shehu have both made new revelations during their interrogations, and the investigation is still ongoing,” he noted.

Edu was suspended by President Bola Tinubu on Monday, over an alleged N585 million cash transfer saga, while Shehu was suspended last week and later arrested by the EFCC in connection with an alleged N44 billion money laundering case and had been mandated to report to the EFCC every day following her release from custody.

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