EFCC has exposed a staggering N37.17 billion fraud allegedly laundered in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs under the tenure of former minister Sadiya Umar-Farouk.
The ongoing investigation, detailed by Sunday PUNCH, discloses that the funds were transferred from the Federal Government to 38 bank accounts linked to a contractor, James Okwete.
Okwete, in turn, is accused of diverting substantial amounts for personal use, including transactions with Bureau De Change operators, cash withdrawals, luxury car purchases, and acquisitions of properties in Abuja and Enugu State.
The contractor allegedly controlled 53 companies, leveraging 47 of them to secure Federal Government contracts worth N27.42 billion.
Sadiya Umar-Farouk, the pioneer Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019, now faces serious allegations.
This revelation follows previous concerns raised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission in 2020, exposing mismanagement of N2.67 billion intended for the ministry’s school feeding program.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called for transparency, urging the former minister to reveal the names of suspects. Despite these developments, the EFCC has neither confirmed nor denied the story.
