Two top officials of the Kogi State Government, Abdulsalami Hudu and Umar Shuaibu Oricha on Monday reported themselves at the Abuja office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to face interrogation over alleged withdrawal of N46 billion cash from the Kogi State Government account with Zenith Bank Plc.
Hudu and Oricha were said to have between February 2016 and September 2021 made cash withdrawals totalling N46,039,579,919.38 from the account.
The N46 billion fraud allegation levelled against Hudu and Oricha is outside the N82 billion fraud allegation against former Governor Yahaya by the same EFCC.
A federal high court sitting in Abuja had last week gave the police an express order to arrest the two officials anywhere they may be.
The order granted by Justice Emeka Nwite last week Tuesday follows a motion ex parte filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and marked as suit number: FHC/ABJ/CS/909/2024.
The two officials, Hudu and Oricha have been serving as Cashier and Director General in the Kogi State governor’s office in Lokoja since the tenure of former Governor Yahaya Bello.
It was gathered that both Hudu and Orisha voluntarily reported themselves to EFCC without waiting for warrant or invitation from the anti-corruption agency.
The case is one of the latest litigations by the EFCC against several Kogi State government officials and associates.
In the EFCC’s motion filed by its investigating officer, Audu Abubakar, told the judge that he is one of the officers assigned to investigate the “damning intelligence report received by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission regarding monumental fraud allegedly perpetrated by former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello and some principal officers of the Kogi State Government and their cronies, through which huge sums of money belonging to the Kogi State Government were fraudulently converted and used to either acquire properties outrightly or renovate already existing but dilapidated buildings within and outside the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court.”
He stated that the Kogi State Government has an account with Zenith Bank Plc and that between February 2016 and September 2021, Hudu was allegedly procured to make cash withdrawals totalling N46,039,579,919.38.
The officer also alleged that one C. Olufunke was similarly procured to make a cash withdrawal of N2,402,533,621 from the same account between March 23rd, 2016, and April 30, 2018.
He continued that in a desperate bid to integrate the funds into the economy as legitimate, Murtala Maigari and his associates were allegedly procured to keep in their custody large sums of cash out of the funds allegedly withdrawn by Abdussalami Hudu and his cronies from the Kogi State Government treasury.
He stated that apart from Abdussalami Hudu, Dauda Sulaiman was also allegedly procured “as a principal member of the syndicate specialized in conveying Kogi State Government funds to the care and custody of Murtala Maigari and associates.”
The investigator informed the judge that some of the individuals mentioned in the motion are currently facing trial for alleged money laundering offenses. (vitalnewsngr.com)
