The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has recovered N30 billion from the investigation of Betta Edu, the suspended minister of humanitarian affairs.
On January 8, President Bola Tinubu suspended Edu and directed the EFCC “to conduct a thorough investigation into all aspects of the financial transaction” involving her ministry.
The social investment programmes – N-Power programme, the conditional cash transfer programme, the government enterprise and empowerment programme, and the homegrown school feeding programme — were put on hold after the suspension of the minister.
The EFCC has since been investigating the suspended minister and the ministry.
In an update contained in a bulletin titled “EFCC Alert,” the commission said it is also investigating 50 bank accounts, adding that the N30 billion recovered is in the coffers of the federal government.
“We have laws and regulations guiding our investigations. Nigerians will also know that they are already on suspension, and this is based on the investigations we have done, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has proved to Nigerians that he is ready to fight corruption,” Ola Olukoyede, EFCC chairman, was quoted as saying in the bulletin.
“Moreover, with respect to this particular case, we have recovered over N30 billion, which is already in the coffers of the Federal Government.
“It takes time to conclude investigations; we started this matter less than six weeks ago. There are cases that take years to investigate.
“There are so many angles to it. And we need to follow through on some of the discoveries that we have made.
“Nigerians should give us time on this matter; we have professionals on this case, and they need to do things right. There are so many leads here and there.
“As it is now, we are investigating over 50 bank accounts we have traced money into. That is no child’s play. That’s a big deal.
“Then you ask about my staff strength. And again, we have thousands of other cases that we are working on. Nigerians have seen the impact of what we have done so far, by way of some people being placed on suspension and by way of the recoveries that we have made.
“You have seen that the programme itself has been suspended. We are exploring so many discoveries that we have stumbled upon in our investigation.
“If it is about seeing people in jail, well, let them wait, everything has a process to follow. So Nigerians should wait and give us the benefit of the doubt.”