A total of N30 billion has been recovered from the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Betta Edu, it was revealed.
This was revealed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a statement on Monday.
The anti-graft agency said it is also probing 50 bank accounts in the ongoing probe of the minister and the ministry over alleged money laundering.
On January 8, President Bola Tinubu suspended Ms Edu over accusations of paying over N500 million humanitarian fund into a private account.
The N585 million was meant for payment of grants to vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Cross River and Ogun states.
The latest EFCC revelations were contained in a bulletin titled, “EFCC Alert,” detailing some major arrests, prosecutions, and recoveries made by the commission within the last month.
The document was authorized by the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, and it revealed that the recovered N30 billion is now in the Federal Government’s coffers.
Parts of the document reads, “Update on Betta Edu investigation. We have laws and regulations guiding our investigations. Nigerians will also know that they are already on suspension, and this is based on the investigations we have done, and President Bola Tinubu has proved to Nigerians that he is ready to fight corruption.
“Moreover, concerning this particular case, we have recovered over N30 billion, which is already in the coffers of the Federal Government.
“It takes time to conclude investigations; we started this matter less than six weeks ago. Some cases take years to investigate. There are so many angles to it, and we need to follow through with some of the discoveries that we have seen. Nigerians should give us time on this matter; we have professionals on this case, and they need to do things right. There are so many leads here and there.
“As it is now, we are investigating over 50 bank accounts that we have traced money into. That is no child’s play. That’s a big deal. Then you ask about my staff strength.
“And again, we have thousands of other cases that we are working on. Nigerians have seen the impact of what we have done so far, by way of some people being placed on suspension and by way of the recoveries that we have made. You have seen that the programme itself has been suspended. We are exploring so many discoveries that we have stumbled upon in our investigation.
“If it is about seeing people in jail, well let them wait. Everything has a process to follow. So Nigerians should wait and give us the benefit of the doubt.”
The anti-graft agency further called for a united front in the fight against corruption while urging the judiciary and legislative arms to assist the commission in its anti-corruption fight.
