EFCC Grills Malami, Seven Other Ex-Ministers Over Corruption Allegations

Patrick OdeyJune 16, 2023

2 minutes read

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigeria’s leading anti-graft agency, has reportedly summoned eight former ministers who served under the administration of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari. The former ministers are being questioned over various corruption allegations involving funds allocated to their ministries.

According to sources, the invitation letters were sent to the former top government officials before the suspension of Abdulrasheed Bawa as the chairman of the EFCC. The agency had commenced investigations into how the former ministers spent the money on some designated projects when they were in office.

Some of the former ministers who have been invited by the EFCC include:

Pauline Tallen, former minister of Women’s Affairs, who was invited last week over alleged N2 billion fraud and diversion of funds from the African First Lady Peace Mission Project.
Sale Mamman, former minister of Power, who was arrested and detained by the EFCC last month in connection with an alleged N22 billion fraud related to power projects.
Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, former minister of Police Affairs, who has been summoned over how the Police Trust Fund was handled. He is accused of purchasing refurbished vehicles for the Nigeria Police as new.
Hadi Sirika, former minister of Aviation, who is being probed over some aviation contracts and projects.
Abubakar Malami, former minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, who is facing allegations of abuse of office and mismanagement of public funds.

The EFCC is a law enforcement agency that investigates financial crimes such as advance fee fraud (419 fraud) and money laundering. It was established in 2003, partially in response to pressure from the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), which named Nigeria as one of 23 countries non-cooperative in the international community’s efforts to fight money laundering. The agency has its head office in Abuja, Nigeria.

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The EFCC has been known for prosecuting and convicting a number of high-profile corrupt individuals, ranging from Nigeria’s former chief law enforcement officer to several bank chief executives. By 2005, the EFCC had 31 of Nigeria’s 36 state governors under investigation for corruption.

The current acting chairman of the EFCC is Abdulkarim Chukkol, who took over from Bawa after his suspension. Bawa was appointed by Former President Muhammadu Buhari on February 16, 2021, and confirmed by the Senate on February 24, 2021. He is the fourth executive chairman of the EFCC since its inception.