The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has vowed to revisit the probe of the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Mattawalle, over alleged N70bn money laundering while he was the Zamfara State governor.
Olukoyede made the development known in Abuja on Friday through the EFCC’s acting Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwujaren, who spoke with journalists following a protest by the Zamfara Alternative Forum at the EFCC headquarters, Jabi, Abuja.
Members of the group stormed the EFCC headquarters on Friday in protest, urging the commission to revisit the probe.
Speaking during the protest, the group’s spokesperson, Mahmud Abubakar, urged the EFCC to resume its investigation.
He said, “The Zamfara Alternative Forum urges the EFCC to resume its investigation of former Governor Bello Matawalle over the N70bn fraud uncovered by the commission during his tenure as governor of Zamfara State.
“This will serve as a deterrent to others considering engaging in corrupt practices in public office, especially in addition to what happened to the humanitarian minister.
“The mismanagement of public funds has far-reaching effects on the people and the state. It leads to a lack of development, a loss of revenue, and a decrease in the quality of life for the people.”
The EFCC had noted that the money, which was sourced as a loan from an old-generation bank purportedly for the execution of projects across the local government areas of the state, was allegedly diverted by the former governor through proxies and contractors who received payment for contracts that were not executed.
The commission’s investigations further revealed that several companies had received payments from the funds, with no evidence of service rendered to the state.
