The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) claims it has linked 17 properties to Ahmed Idris, the suspended Accountant General of the Federation who is being held in connection with an alleged N80 billion scam. Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance and national planning, suspended Idris on Wednesday following his detention by the EFCC.
According to an EFCC employee who requested anonymity, the properties linked to Idris are in Kano, Lagos, Abuja, Dubai, and London.
However, he stated that early investigations revealed that the country’s top accountant reportedly utilized proxies to purchase some of these assets.
As a result, the commission would need to invite some of the accountant-proxies. general’s According to the detective, these properties were bought while Idris was in office and were not declared to the Code of Conduct Bureau as required by law. “He has been linked to 17 residences in London, Lagos, Kano, Abuja, and Dubai.” Some of the mansions in Abuja are in serviced estates,” he explained. The EFCC stated on Monday that the accountant general had been arrested for N80 billion in fraud. “The commission’s confirmed information proved that the AGF raked off the monies through phony consultancies and other criminal operations employing proxies, family members, and close acquaintances,” according to the statement. Real estate investments in Kano and Abuja were used to launder the proceeds.” Idris was investigated last year after claims that he paid a family large sums of money in order to guarantee the marriage of their 16-year-old daughter.
In an interview with Punch, Nura Bagudu stated that Idris promised the young woman and her family land and presents and that she had filed complaints with the Federal Government. “He told the young girl to go to Abuja and pick whatever property she liked, and he would buy it for her,” Bagudu explained. In addition, the accountant-general established Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited in 2021, which he publicly acknowledged to holding. Idris mentioned this when he met with a group from Kano Concerned Citizens Initiative, led by the late Alhaji Bashir Tofa. The project is supposed to be worth a lot of money, substantially more than his salary. According to an EFCC official, the legal department is already receiving an order to remand the accountant-general and get an interim forfeiture on some of his properties awaiting the completion of the investigations.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government said on Wednesday that the accountant-general will be suspended to allow for a smooth inquiry. The Minister of Finance ordered the beleaguered public officer not to enter the office at any moment in a letter communicating Idris’ suspension, noting that the suspension was in accordance with public service norms. “Following your recent arrest by EFCC on charges of diversion of funds and money laundering, I write to express your suspension from employment without pay effective May 18, 2022,” according to the document headed “Letter of Suspension.” Efforts to reach the EFCC’s spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, were futile since he did not return phone calls.
