Nigeria has recovered 30bn naira ($24m; £19m) as part of an ongoing corruption probe into a suspended minister, the financial watchdog says.
The funds were traced to more than 50 bank accounts, it said.
Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Minister Betta Edu was initially suspended in January over the alleged diversion of $640,000 of public money into a personal bank account.
President Bola Tinubu then ordered an investigation into her ministry.
At the time Dr Edu, 37, denied any wrongdoing. Her office said she had approved the transfer into a personal account, which was not in her name, but said it was for the "implementation of grants to vulnerable groups".
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said during its nearly six weeks of investigating so far, it had found "many angles" to examine.
"As it is now, we are investigating over 50 bank accounts that we have traced money into. That is no child's play. That's a big deal," its chairman Ola Olukoyede said in the latest edition of the agency's monthly e-magazine, EFCC Alert.
He urged Nigerians seeking redress to give the agency time to finish its probe thoroughly.
"We are exploring so many discoveries that we have stumbled upon in our investigation. If it is about seeing people in jail, well let them wait, everything has a process to follow," he said.
The EFCC chairman gave an assurance that the recovered funds were "already in the coffers of the federal government".
The suspension of a minister is a rare occurrence in Nigeria.
3 Comments
Where she get all the money from? Of course, she did nothing wrong because that’s the norm among those she’s operating. Isn’t it too late for her to talk now ? The easiest way to amass public resources is to join politics
ReplyDeletePlease what is she going to do with that sort of money?
ReplyDeleteMany of us need therapy.
Yes now!!
ReplyDeleteNigeria have no law at all.
All the politicians are scamers