The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has vowed to investigate allegations of financial misconduct involving the Minister of State for Defense, Bello Matawalle. This is coming following a petition submitted by the All Progressives Congress Young Leaders Alliance (APC-YLA), accusing Matawalle of embezzling more than N528 billion during his tenure as Governor of Zamfara State.
Speaking while receiving the petition, the EFCC’s Acting Director of Security, Idowu Adedeji, revealed that the petition would be looked into as soon as possible.
The assurance was given after a protest held at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja, where APC-YLA Convener, Mohammed Ireji, and other demonstrators demanded the immediate reopening of the corruption case against Matawalle.
According to the protesters, immediate action is definitely needed, especially because of the commission’s previous successes in investigating and prosecuting other high-profile figures, including former Minister Betta Edu, former Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, and former Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State.
Ireji revealed that Matawalle misappropriated N290 billion from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), N133 billion from the Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC), while also having an unexplained N105 billion loan taken during his governorship.
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Emphasising that the allegations are not just mere speculations, but backed by concrete facts and figures, Ireji challenged EFCC to step up its investigation and ensure justice prevails at the end of the day.
“We are here today to formally request that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) reopen the investigation into the corruption allegations against Bello Mohammed Matawalle, the State Minister for Defense. We have gathered facts and figures regarding Bello Matawalle’s alleged embezzlement of billions of Naira.
If all these former governors and ministers were not above the law and the EFCC, who would shield Matawalle from investigation?
We have lauded the performance and resilience of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) leadership in its fight against corruption without bias many times,” he said.
The demonstration highlighted the increasing concerns about selective justice and political interference in the EFCC’s anti-corruption efforts.
