Crime

Humanitarian Ministry Probe: EFCC Recovers Fresh $445,000, N3bn

By Web News 576

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said on Sunday it has freshly recovered $445,000 and N3bn in the ongoing probe of the scandal in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.

The EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, said that the $445,000 and N3bn were recovered between March and April in addition to N30bn earlier recovered before March, which the EFCC Chairman, Olu Olukoyede, referenced in an interview.

Oyewale said, “The interview with the commission’s chairman, which was recently released, was done mid-March, and as at that time, the N30bn was what had been recovered as noted by the chairman. However, between that time and now, the commission has been able to recover an extra N2.7bn and $445,000 in connection with the probe.”

The EFCC launched the probe on the directive of President Bola Tinubu following the suspension of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Dr Beta Edu.

Also under probe is Edu’s predecessor, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, and the Coordinator of the National Social Insurance Programmes Agency, Halima Shehu.

The spokesman for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, gave the update in a statement on Sunday titled, “Beta Edu and other Matters: For the Purpose of Clarity.”

The statement read, “No officials from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs have been cleared in ongoing investigations into financial misappropriation.

“The EFCC has recovered N32.7bn and $445,000 in the ongoing investigation. Investigations have uncovered fraudulent dealings related to COVID-19 funds, World Bank loans, and Abacha loot.

“Banks involved in the fraud are being investigated, with Managing Directors providing useful statements.”

The EFCC also said it would intensify its move against naira abuser, following the conviction of controversial cross-dresser, Idri Okuneye, alias Bobrisky, and his sentence to six-month imprisonment by the Federal High Court in Lagos.

It said, “Public support in reporting naira abuse and dollarisation of the economy is appreciated, with increased awareness of the issue.

“The EFCC is committed to prosecuting those involved in naira abuse, having in mind that a new task force came into operation on February 7, 2024.’’

“Several celebrities are under investigation for naira abuse, with some providing statements and more likely to be invited for questioning. The EFCC maintains its no-sacred-cow approach, warning the public to comply with laws against the crime.”

Punch/Simeon Ugbodovon

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Foreign

Capitol Riots Report: Prosecutors Probe Trump Role in Election Challenge

By Web News 484

The US Justice Department is examining Donald Trump’s alleged involvement in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Federal prosecutors have reportedly asked witnesses directly about the actions of the former US president.

According to US media, so far, they have chosen not to open a formal criminal investigation into Mr Trump himself over his alleged role.

Rioters stormed the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 in an effort to overturn the president’s election defeat.

Mr Trump had publicly praised those who attacked the building but denied any personal wrongdoing.

The Justice Department already had a criminal investigation into what happened on the 6th of January. Although, the reports that witnesses are being questioned about Mr Trump’s role do not mean that federal prosecutors will decide to pursue criminal charges against him.

The investigation is separate to the high-profile, televised Congressional hearings that had taken place over the past few weeks on the same subject – which Mr Trump has characterized as a political witch hunt.

According to a report in the Washington Post, federal prosecutors questioned witnesses before a grand jury about their conversations with Mr Trump and his inner circle in the months leading up to the 6 January riot.

The witnesses were reportedly asked about instructions given by Mr Trump in connection to any attempts to prevent President Joe Biden’s election victory from being certified by Congress.

Some of those questioned included senior members of former Vice President Mike Pence’s staff and multiple US outlets reports.

Until now the Justice Department has refused to say whether or not it would weigh charges against Mr Trump for any alleged role in trying to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.

When the department’s top official, Attorney General Merrick Garland, was asked on Tuesday whether he was concerned about indicting a former president – he simply responded that he intends to hold “everyone” accountable.

Federal officials would prosecute anyone “criminally responsible for interfering with the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to another,” Mr Garland told NBC News.

The Justice Department’s probe into what happened on 6 January 2021, he said, is the “most wide-ranging investigation its history”.

Any decision by federal prosecutors to bring charges against a former president – and a potential candidate in the 2024 election – would have significant constitutional and political consequences.

In addition to federal prosecutors, a powerful US congressional committee has also been holding its own separate investigation into the armed storming of the Capitol building.

The congressional committee, made up of five Democrats and two Republicans, called dozens of witnesses last week in an attempt to build a case that Mr Trump launched an illegal bid to overturn his defeat by Mr Biden in the 2020 presidential election – culminating in the riot.

Some of the most explosive testimony delivered at the televised hearings came from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

Appearing as a surprise witness during the sixth hearing, Ms Hutchinson said Mr Trump personally knew that members of the crowd at his morning rally near the White House were armed because they were being turned away by Secret Service officers.

“I don’t [expletive] care that they have weapons. They’re not here to hurt me,” Ms Hutchinson said she heard the president say. “Let my people in. They can march to the Capitol from here.”

Her testimony offered the committee something they had been seeking to establish from the very beginning of proceedings – that Mr Trump allegedly knew there was a very real threat of violence and did nothing to stop it.

Its panel of senators has suggested there might be enough evidence to bring criminal charges against Mr Trump, but it does not itself have the power to do that.

Any suggestion that the Justice Department could be looking into the former president’s personal role is therefore significant.

BBC/Taiwo Akinola

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