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L-R: Halima Shehu and Betta Edu |
Both Edu and Shehu were suspended about three months ago by
President Bola Tinubu over alleged financial malfeasance. The President also
suspended Social Investment Programme and, thereafter, asked the EFCC to take
over the case and probe both embattled officials including anyone involved.
Three months after, executive chairman of EFCC, Ola
Olukoyede, who made the revelations, said the anti-graft agency was making
progress on the investigation, emphasising the magnitude of the case and the
need for Nigerians to exercise patience.
Olukoyede spoke in the March edition of the commission’s
monthly e-magazine, EFCCAlert, obtained on Monday.
“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 Ahmed Tinubu
has proved to Nigerians that he is ready to fight corruption.
“Moreover, with respect to 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. There are cases that 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,” Olukoyede stated.