Aliyu Abdlhameed, the beleaguered former Managing Director of the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), has been detained almost a year after his unceremonious departure for the alleged N5.6Bn Wheat Project Scam.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) established NIRSAL, a $500 million non-bank financial entity, to handle agribusiness credit risks in Nigeria.
Abdulhameed was fired over allegations of corruption, including a N5.6 billion wheat project for farmers in Kano and Jigawa states in 2018.
Following clearance from the Presidency in December of last year, his dismissal was approved by the CBN Board.
He was detained recently on the premises of a federal government revenue-generating institution in Abuja, where he had purportedly gone to lobby for reappointment.
According to many sources within and outside the NIRSAL, the ex-NIRSAL leader was apprehended after a five-month manhunt by a joint team of the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Police Force, and the Special Investigator.
According to the findings, the embattled ex-NIRSAL leader, who is claimed to be in DSS custody, is being questioned about several charges of corruption during his tenure.
According to a source at the NIRSAL, the investigators were also looking for answers based on results from an earlier investigation done by a team from the CBN in response to a petition filed against the NIRSAL alleging fraud, money laundering, and criminal conspiracy.
Following the probe, the CBN’s Banking Supervision Department wrote to the ex-NIRSAL CEO, requesting an explanation for “observed breaches of internal policies and procedures of the organization, relevant regulations and laws, particularly the Public Procurement Act 2007.”
According to Daily Trust’s findings, a question about the breaches was conveyed in a letter titled: BSD/SPG/CON/NIR/13/083 titled: ‘On a spot check on the operation of NIRSAL conducted between August 27, 2020 and September 11, 2020.’
Sources also indicated that the former NIRSAL MD diverted 32 official vehicles to his own use during his tenure.
According to an NIRSAL employee familiar with the situation, just two of the vehicles were seized by security personnel and returned to the organization after his detention. He said that 21 of the diverted vehicles were purchased with official monies at auction in the name of some NIRSAL officials without their knowledge, but were converted to personal usage by the former MD.