By El-ameen Ibrahim
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the weekend affirmed its commitment to pursuing the alleged N70 billion corruption case involving Bello Matawalle, the Minister of State for Defence, during his tenure as the Governor of Zamfara State from 2019 to 2023.
The Acting Director of Public Affairs for the EFCC, Wilson Uwajuren, on behalf of the EFCC chairman while addressing protesters from the APC Akida Forum, who rallied at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja demanding the revival of the pending case, assured them that investigations once initiated are not closed prematurely.
Uwajuren pledged to review their request and emphasized the agency’s dedication to upholding accountability.
“I want to commend members of the APC Akida Forum for this peaceful protest. It is within your rights to protest. The Constitution guarantees the right of free expression and you have done that today.
“I want to assure you all that EFCC does not close cases. Once we open investigation into a case we will do not close such matter. So I assure you that this petition will be look into. Thank you very much,” he said.
Submitting their petition to the EFCC, Musa Mahmud, the Chairman of the group, urged the Commission to reinitiate the inquiry into the corruption accusations against Matawalle, the State Minister for Defence.
Mahmud emphasized that this plea arises in light of escalating worries about corruption within Nigeria and the proactive measures taken by the APC administration in recent actions against government officials suspected of financial misconduct, such as former Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello, among others.
“Recall that on the 18th May 2023, the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), through its then Director, Media and Public Affairs, Osita Nwajah Nwajah, said that the EFCC is investigating Matawalle over allegations of monumental corruption, award of phantom contracts and diversion of over N70 billion.
“According to the EFCC, the money, which was sourced as a loan from an old-generation bank, purportedly for the execution of projects across the local government areas of the state, was allegedly diverted by the governor through proxies and contractors who received payment for contracts that were not executed.
“The Commission’s investigations revealed that over 100 companies had received payments from the funds, with no evidence of service rendered to the state. Some of the contractors who had been invited and quizzed by the Commission made startling revelations on how the governor allegedly compelled them to return the funds received from the state coffers back to him through his aides after converting the same to United States Dollars (hard currency).
“The companies confirmed that they did not render any service to Zamfara State. Still, they were allegedly directed to convert the monies paid to them into United States Dollars (hard currency) and return them to the state governor through some of his commissioners, notably those in charge of Finance and Local Government Affairs,” he stated.
Also, Mahmud pressed the EFCC to delve into the $2.1 billion arms procurement scandal, implicating Matawalle among the disreputable individuals and entities who profited from the former National Security Adviser’s misdeeds.
“The APC AKIDA Forum is appealing to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to continue investigating Bello Mohammed Matawalle’s alleged mismanagement of public funds during his tenure as Governor of Zamfara State and his involvement in the famous arms deal scandal.
“As party loyalists, we want the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to investigate the matter and bring justice to those responsible for the mismanagement of public funds. This will serve as a deterrent to others considering engaging in corrupt practices in public office, especially considering what happened to the humanitarian minister.
“The APC Akida Forum, as a political pressure group, commends the Federal Government for making bold decisions against corruption,” he added.
Sokoto Court dismissed Matawalle’s suit over ownership of official vehicle
Matawalle’s legal battle over ownership of the official vehicles he acquired upon leaving office in May faced a setback as a Federal High Court in Sokoto dismissed his lawsuit.
In compliance with a court directive, the police raided Matawalle’s residences in June 2023 and confiscated the vehicles.
Governor Dauda Lawal’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris, stated in a release last Monday that the Federal High Court rejected Bello Matawalle’s assertions regarding the government vehicles’ ownership. He lamented that the current administration was left without means of transportation as the former governor and his cabinet members allegedly misappropriated all state-owned official vehicles.
EFCC’s announces ex-Governor Matawalle under probe for N70 billion fraud
A year ago, Osita Nwajah, the Director of Public Affairs at the EFCC, disclosed an ongoing investigation into Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, concerning the purported diversion of N70 billion from the state coffers.
Despite attempts by Premium Times to obtain comments from the governor’s spokesperson, Zailani Baffa, there has been no response to our text message. Moreover, repeated calls went unanswered after an initial disconnection just before the introduction phase at the time.
