The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has given ex-Humanitarian and Disaster Management minister, Sadiya Umar-Farouq 72 hours to show up for interrogation or risk arrest.
Sadiya was expected at the EFCC’s head office in Abuja on January 3, but failed to appear on claims of not feeling well. She then requested for three weeks to enable her attend to her health before honouring the ant-graft agency invitation.
The letter she wrote to the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede explaining she was indisposed, was said to have been rejected, according to The Nation newspaper which also reported that Olukoyede is personally heading the probe.
“In her letter,” a source disclosed to The Nation, “she asked the EFCC to give her three weeks to attend to her health before honouring the Commission’s investigation. The letter was delivered by her counsel on Wednesday.
“But the EFCC said it cannot delay the investigation for three weeks. It has given [her] three days to appear or risk being declared wanted.
“Olukoyede has put a new system in place such that you can appear before EFCC detectives and sleep in your home the same day. There is no need to panic at all.
“We are expecting her; our team is on standby. Even if she requires medical help, we will avail her of our first-class facility.”
EFCC spokesman Dele Oyewale confirmed “We got a letter from the ex-minister that she could not honour our invitation due to some health challenges.
“Since her lawyer brought the letter, the EFCC has also responded accordingly.”
The former minister is being accused of diverting over N37.1 billion through a conduit, James Okwete. But in a post on her X account, she denied dealing with the alleged conduit for the scam.
EFCC has also announced uncovering N30 billion from fronts allegedly working for the suspended National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) boss, Halima Shehu.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari created the ministry mainly to alleviate poverty. NSIPA was under the ministry of Humanitarian Disaster supervised by Umar-Farouq’s tenure as Minister.
The EFCC claimed to have tracked N30 billion of the N44 billion suspiciously moved from the accounts of NSIPA by it officials into private and corporate accounts linked to those serving as fronts.
Some of the NSIPA officials are also being investigated, the anti-graft agency said.
Shehu was grilled for four hours on Wednesday by the EFCC which has also arrested former NSIPA Finance and Accounts Director Bwai Hamza.
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