Sophia Michaels
Sadiya Umar Farouq
The former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq has been released by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The former minister was allowed to return home at night, after hours of interrogation by EFCC investigators over allegations of corruption in the handling of N37.1 billion social intervention funds during her tenure.
She is expected to return on Tuesday for further clarifications on sundry issues that the Commission has flagged in the course of its preliminary investigations.
The ongoing investigation by the EFCC revolves around the staggering sum of N37.1 billion allegedly laundered by officials of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development then led by Umar-Farouq as the minister.
The EFCC had earlier grilled the suspended National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), Halima Shehu.
The commission detained Shehu after raiding NSIPA’s office in the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, on 2 January. She was held for questioning till the following day when she was released on bail.
Shehu, who was recently suspended by President Bola Tinubu, was responsible for overseeing the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme during President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. She was replaced with Akindele Egbuwalo, in an acting capacity.
