Date: 2020-08-27

Another N130 million stolen under previous administrations in Kwara State has been recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), says Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

In a statement on Wednesday, Mr AbdulRazaq disclosed that the latest loot was announced by the new zonal head of the commission, Oseni Kazeem.

He said the recovered monies will go into funding social interventions and infrastructure for the people.

Although Mr AbdulRazaq did not indicate the exact administration under which the funds were stolen, former Senate President Bukola Saraki, and his protege, Abdulfatah Ahmed, governed the state from 2003 to 2019.

"We thank the EFCC for their activities and our administration will continue to support them. On our part, we want to run a responsible government and that is why we embrace the idea of social audit which means all contracts we do can be inspected by individuals or civil society organisations and make recommendations to the government," the statement read.

He promised transparency and accountability, restating his pledge to run an open government and "make sure the right things are done."

Not the first time

Since the inauguration of Mr AbdulRazaq in 2019, the anti-graft agency has recovered millions of naira reportedly looted under past administrations.

The commission had on October 11, 2019, handed over the sum of N112 million being recoveries from corrupt individuals, to the Governor.

In December, 2019, the agency recovered additional N70 million.

In February, it handed over N111.4 million as looted funds from politicians and civil servants in Kwara State.

In March, another N263 million allegedly recovered from corrupt officials was handed over to Governor AbdulRazaq by the EFCC.

Prosecution

Some of the public officers fingered in the corrupt practices have also been arraigned by the commission.

In March, Ope Saraki, cousin to the former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, was arraigned before a Kwara State High Court in Ilorin, for alleged contract scam. The EFCC arraigned Mr Saraki, a former special adviser to the Governor Ahmed on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), on a two-count charge bordering on employment scam put at over N200 million. A former finance commissioner, under Mr Ahmed, Ademola Banu, was arraigned for an alleged N411 million money laundering.

Mr Banu held the position throughout the eight years of the administration of former Governor Ahmed.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how he was arraigned alongside Travel Messenger Company Limited and one Olarewaju Adeniyi, on nine counts before Justice Babangana Ashigar of the Federal High Court, Ilorin, Kwara State Also, the immediate past chairperson of Kwara State Scholarship Board, Fatimah Yusuf, and two others, who were allegedly involved in bursary fraud, were arraigned before Justice Sikiru Oyinloye of the State High Court, Ilorin. The trio were arraigned on a seven-count charge for their alleged involvement in bursary fraud in the state, to the tune of N50 million.

However, none of those mentioned has been convicted.