20 Senior Civil Servants Face Questioning
By Luka Binniyat
(KADUNA) – The cascading financial scandal rocking Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs is escalating after the discovery that 20 other federal officials have siphoned off large sums that may have been fraudulent, TruthNigeria has learned.
It was discovered that prior to last week’s discovery of alleged diversion of N54.1 billion Naira (US$45.08 million – at N1,200 to US$1) ) by three female political appointees who were running the Ministry, there was an initial alleged diversion of N50 billion Naira ( US$41.66 million) by some 20 top career federal government workers, Truth Nigeria findings shows. The 20 civil servants are now facing investigation of the Economic Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), The Punch reports, Friday.
Truth Nigeria had reported how Hajia Sadiya Umar Faruk, immediate past Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation was indicted and arraigned by the EFCC Wednesday, for fraudulently stealing N37.1 billion (US$30.91 million) during her service as founding Minister of the Ministry between 2019 and June 2023.
Hajia Halima Shehu, National Coordinator, Nigeria Social Insurance Programmes Agency (NSIPA) – an arm of the Ministry – was also arraigned January 2,2024 by the EFCC for alleged theft of N44 billion (US$36.67 million). In the same story, TruthNigeria added that Dr. Betta Edu, current Minister of the Ministry was suspended by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and handed over to the EFCC who grilled her overnight (January 10, 2024) for attempting to divert N585 million (US$487,500) into a private account. The development has stirred a national outrage in a country of 200 million where the minimum monthly salary is N30,000 (US 25). In 2023, nearly 12 percent of the world’s population in extreme poverty lived in Nigeria, where many live on US$1.90 U.S. a day.
The ongoing scandal involving the three women has opened a new chapter into the alleged crimes as it has been revealed that no sooner had Hajia Sadiya Umar Faruk stepped down from being Minister and before Betta Edu was appointed Minister, some top career civil servants had swooped on the funds of the Ministry and cornered a good chunk for themselves.
“In the wake of a thorough probe into the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has summoned 20 high-ranking directors and officials for questioning,” reports Quest Times, last Friday.
Building on the story before the grilling of the top civil servants by the anti-corruption body, Punch reports last Friday that: “The money, which was about to be embezzled, was recovered by the Independent Criminal and other related Practices Commission (ICPC) and paid into the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“Some officials had attempted to transfer the N50bn into private bank accounts, but it was intercepted and recovered by the ICPC under its former Chairman, Bolaji Owasanoye.
“The Punch gathered that the fund which was meant for vulnerable citizens during the tenure of former Minister Sadiya Umar-Farouq was blocked during attempts to transfer it into private bank accounts and recovered by the ICPC under its former Chairman, Bolaji Owasanoye,” reports Punch.
It is not clear whether the civil servants whose names have not been made public are still under the custody of the EFCC or have been released. The Spokesman, Dele Oyewale of the EFCC has, has been unavailable to TruthNigeria calls.
The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Services, formerly Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, was created in 2019 to make interventions on dire humanitarian issues affecting vulnerable Nigerians, including poverty alleviation.
Under the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, not less than N2 trillion (US1.67 billion) was expended on NSIP ostensibly to cater for the 133 million Nigerians living in multidimensional poverty, but it reportedly has not had any impact on Nigeria’s poor due to corruption.
History of Nigerian Government Corruption
Nigeria civil servants have been accused of insidious corruption over time.
In 2009, then Nigeria Speaker of House of Representatives, Hon. Demiji Bankole, said that N700 billion (US$4.8 billion at exchange rate of N146 to US$1) which 2024 rate is N5.76 billion, was stolen by civil servants, representing 30 percent of the 2009 National budget.
Though stories of corruption are common in Nigeria, Ahmed Idris, a former Accountant General of the Federation caused a stir when he was sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2021 and arrested by the EFCC for alleged embezzlement of N109 billion (US$90.83 million).
But that was to be dwarfed by the allegation of diversion of unprecedented huge amounts of monies by the immediate past governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele:
The Cable among several Nigeria news outlets report that: “Report by the special investigation panel on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and related entities, says Godwin Emefiele, the regulator’s ex-governor, illegally kept billions of naira in 593 bank accounts in the United States, United Kingdom, and China,” reads the report.
“The panel, led by Jim Obazee, the special investigator, also said the Emefiele lodged £543, 482,213 in fixed deposits in UK banks alone without the approval of the apex bank’s board of directors and the investment committee.
Emefile has however dismissed the report as “Satanic” saying his hands were clean.
Former Nigeria Minister of Information and National Orientation, Lai Mohammed, had in 2016 decried the looting of Nigeria treasury. He claimed that “between the period 2006 and 2013, about 55 people allegedly stole a total of N1.34 trillion (US$6.70 billion – at the then exchange rate of N200 to US$1) from Nigeria. That’s more than a quarter of last year’s national budget,”
While it is has not been officially affirmed how much has been allegedly looted by ruling government officials under the present government of the All Progressive Congress (APC) of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu from 29th May 2024, till date, the major opposition party – the Peoples Democrats Party (PDP) has alleged that N26.7 trillion (US$22. 52 billion) was stolen under the APC government of Muhammadu Buhari (2015- 2023).
Nigeria’s 2024 budget estimate is at N27.5 trillion (US$22.9 billion). In other words, the PDP has alleged that under the APC’s eight years’ reign corruption was almost 82% of this year’s budget.
Luka Binniyat is a veteran conflict reporter in Kaduna and writes on terrorism, crime and politics for TruthNigeria.com
