EFCC recovers N65m from INEC office in Zamfara

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Sokoto Zonal Office, on Wednesday recovered N65, 548.00 from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Zamfara State.

A statement issued by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, said money in higher denominations of Naira notes was recovered from two fireproof safes during a search in the offices of the head of Accounts and Cashier of INEC in the state.

The Commission carried out an operation at the office on Wednesday.

The operation followed a petition sent by an ad-hoc staff of INEC, alleging that officials of the Commission illegally deducted part of the allowance due them for the last general election.

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According to the complainant, while INEC in Zamfara allegedly paid its ad hoc staff N9,000, others in states like Sokoto were paid N12,000.

The recovered fund is suspected be part of the funds illegally deducted from releases meant to cater for the movement of materials and electoral officials as well as the provision of chairs, tables, and canopies for the 2019 governorship and presidential elections in the state

The Commission had last week arrested four officials of INEC in the state.

The officials, Hassan Sidi Aliyu, Administrative Secretary, Hussain Jafar, Head of Operations, Abdullahi Yusuf Abubakar, State Accountant, and the Cashier Labaran Ishaka, were picked for alleged conspiracy, breach of trust and criminal diversion of ad- hoc staff allowance to the tune of N84, 696,000.

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