The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has launched the sacked chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, Jalal Arabi, and the fee’s secretary, Abdullahi Kontagora, on bail.
Arabi and Kontagora had been detained over alleged unlawful withdrawal and the mismanagement of the N90bn 2024 Hajj intervention fund.
They had been, nevertheless, unable to satisfy their bail circumstances and stayed in EFCC’s custody for 5 days.
But talking with our correspondent on Wednesday, a supply aware of the matter acknowledged that Arabi and Kontagora had met their bail circumstances.
The supply mentioned they had been launched on Monday, including that no additional restoration had been made but after the primary 314,098 Saudi Riyal.
“The former Hajj Commission chairman and the secretary have been released, and the investigation is still ongoing. They were released on Monday after meeting their bail conditions. Nothing yet on the matter. No other recoveries except for the earlier ones,” the supply mentioned.
The EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, couldn’t be reached as of the time of submitting this report.
He didn’t decide up his calls and has but to reply to a message despatched to him on the matter.
In an unique report on August 15, The PUNCH stories that the EFCC’s investigation revealed that from the N90bn Hajj subsidy, Arabi fraudulently overpaid himself and others the mandatory operational prices.
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The anti-graft company additionally mentioned it had recovered 314,098 Saudi Riyal from Arabi and others in the midst of the continued probe.
“The total sum of SR 8,614,175.27 cash withdrawal is yet to be accounted for by NAHCON, ” a doc sighted by our correspondent acknowledged.
Apart from the Hajj intervention fund, an investigation into the fee’s actions since 2022 resulted within the restoration of estacodes paid to workers who didn’t undertake examine excursions and funds made to Shuraka’a al-Khair Group Ltd for companies that weren’t rendered.
Also, paperwork for fee of the consultancy companies, together with the Executive Chairman’s approval, had been fraudulently backdated to January 23, 2024, to allow the fee of the sum of SAR 780, 019, 59 to Shuraka’a al-Khair Group Ltd on April 14, 2024.
“The first suspect, Jalal Arabi, confessed that the advisor didn’t render any companies, “ the EFCC alleged.
However, amid the EFCC’s probe, President Bola Tinubu sacked Arabi on August 19 and appointed Prof Abdullahi Usman as his substitute.