OPERATIVES of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), yesterday, raided the headquarters of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) in Abuja over alleged fraud.
The EFCC operatives, who arrived at the commission in a white bus, at about 11am with a valid warrant of arrest, left the premises with the spokesperson of the commission, Fatimah Usara, and three other yet-to-be-identified senior staff members of the commission.
Sources close to this newspaper revealed that the arrest was not unconnected with an ongoing investigation concerning misappropriation of funds.
Also, operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had raided the headquarters of the commission over alleged mismanagement of the N90 billion intervention for the 2024 hajj.
EFCC had been investigating NAHCON and its leadership under Jalal Arabi and the secretary, Abdullahi Kontagora, over the alleged mismanagement of the N90 billion 2024 Hajj subsidy.
The anti-graft agency said its investigation revealed that from the N90 billion, Arabi fraudulently overpaid himself and others the necessary operational cost. It, however, alleged: “The chairman fraudulently overpaid himself, the commissioners, secretary and directors for the 2024 hajj operational cost.
“The chairman was entitled to SR15,929 but he got SR50,000; three commissioners who were meant to get SR15,929 each received SR 40,000 each. The secretary got SR30,000 instead of SR14,336. Directors/Chief of Staff received SR30,000 instead of the SR2,550 they were entitled to.
“A total of SR314,098 were recovered from all of them.” EFCC had grilled Arabi for hours on July 29, 2024, and released him on bail.
When contacted for a comment, EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale declined to provide an immediate response but indicated that further details regarding the arrests and the investigation would be shared in due course.
