The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has tracked and frozen N30 billion of the N44 billion transferred from the National Social Investment Programme Agency’s (NSIPA) accounts.
The development comes just 24 hours after Halima Shehu, the embattled National Coordinator of NSIPA, was detained and arrested by the EFCC following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s suspension of her.
An unidentified source told The Nation on Wednesday that the various accounts through which some NSIPA personnel moved the anti-graft agency had been frozen as part of an ongoing investigation.
“After hours of interrogation and profiling of many accounts, the EFCC confirmed that unauthorised N44 billion was suspiciously moved out of NSIPA’s account to some private and corporate accounts” .
The EFCC questioned Shehu about the suspected scam on Wednesday.
Bwai Adamu Hamza, NSIPA’s immediate past Director of Finance and Accounts, was also arrested by the anti-graft agency.
Hamza left the CIA in December.
A special team interrogated Shehu and Hamza the day before yesterday.
To that end, the EFCC collected and frozen the N30 billion traceable to numerous accounts after following the financial flow.
The agency has intercepted and seized N17 billion as of Tuesday.
Within 24 hours, the commission had tracked down and frozen an additional N13 billion in other accounts, bringing the total amount seized to N30 billion.
The N44 billion was discovered to have been mysteriously transferred from NSIPA’s accounts into individual and company accounts related to people acting as fronts.
Sadiya Umar-Farouq, the former Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development Minister under whom Halima Shehu worked, declined the EFCC’s invitation to appear for questioning.
The EFCC summoned Umar-Farouq in connection with the alleged laundering of N37, 170,855,753.44 through a contractor, James Okwete, during her term.
The charges were disputed by the former minister.