To continue with N70 billion corruption case against Tinubu minister – EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has assured that it will continue with the alleged N70 billion corruption case against the Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Matawalle, while he was governor of Zamfara State from 2019 to 2023.

The Acting Director of Public Affairs of the EFCC, Wilson Uwajuren, said this on Friday while addressing hundreds of protesters under the auspices of the APC Akida Forum who staged a protest at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, calling for the reopening of the pending case. .

Uwajuren told the group that EFCC does not close cases once it opens an investigation and assured them that their complaint will be investigated.

“I want to congratulate the members of the APC Akida Forum for this peaceful protest. It is your right to protest. The Constitution guarantees the right to free expression and you have done it today.”

“I want to assure everyone that EFCC does not close cases. Once we open an investigation into a case, we will not close that matter. So I assure you that this request will be studied,” he stated.

Submitting a copy of his petition to the EFCC, the group’s chairman, Mallam Musa Mahmud, asked the commission to reopen the investigation into the corruption allegations against Matawalle.

Mahmud said there is growing concern over corruption in Nigeria and commended the bold steps taken by the APC administration in recent decisions on government officials suspected of embezzlement.

“Recall that on May 18, 2023, the EFCC, through its then Director of Media and Public Affairs, Osita Nwajah Nwajah, said that the EFCC is investigating Matawalle over allegations of monumental corruption, awarding of ghost contracts and diversion of over 70 billion naira.

“According to the EFCC, the money, which came from a loan from an old generation bank, supposedly for the execution of projects in the local government areas of the state, was allegedly siphoned off by the governor through proxies and contractors who received the pay. for contracts that were not executed.

“The Commission’s investigations revealed that more than 100 companies had received payments from the funds, without evidence of service provided to the State. Some of the contractors who had been invited and questioned by the commission made shocking revelations about how the governor allegedly forced them to return funds received from the state coffers through his aides after converting them into US dollars,” Mahmud said. .