JUST IN: Malami Recovers $1b in Stolen Funds Since 2015

According to Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, the current administration has so far managed to recoup about $1 billion in stolen money.

Malami made this disclosure while briefing State House Correspondents following the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held last week at the Presidential Villa in Abuja under the chairmanship of President Buhari.

The Attorney General also revealed that a new Anti-Corruption Strategy Document has been approved by Council to support national anti-graft campaigns.

He claimed that the recovered assets had been used in a number of economic sectors, including the fight against poverty.

Malami also noted that the government would take all necessary steps to address instances of budget padding, which he described as alarming.

Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, the minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management, and social development, had accused Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, budget, and national planning, of increasing the budget for the ministry of humanitarian affairs by N206 billion.

Farouq claimed that the Ministry requested some projects for the North East Development Commission and the National Social Safety Net Project in the 2022 budget, which were not released, but was surprised to see an inflated amount in the 2023 budget of the Ministry when he testified before the Senate Committee on Special Duties on Monday to defend the 2023 Budget.

Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi (rted), the Minister of Defense, had also informed the Senate that Ahmed had added a total of N11 billion to his Ministry’s 2023 budget.