The suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, and her predecessor, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, have been reportedly barred from travelling out of the country until the conclusion of investigations into their corruption cases by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC).
An impeccable EFCC source said the passports of Edu and Farouq were seized to deter them from fleeing the country while the investigation subsists.
“The commission has seized the passports of the two ministers, Sadiya Shehu and Betta Edu. We have also seized Mrs Halima Shehu’s passport pending the conclusion of investigations. The commission does not want to risk having any of them leave the country while they still have questions to answer,” the source said.
It was learnt that Farouq’s passport was seized as part of her bail conditions before she was subsequently released late Monday night.
The ex-minister was said to have been quizzed by investigators for 12 hours on Monday in connection with the probe into the N37.1bn allegedly laundered during her tenure in office, through a contractor, James Okwete.
Similarly, on Tuesday, Edu honoured the EFCC invitation and she was subjected to marathon interrogation by investigators over the N44bn fraud uncovered in the ministry.
It was learnt that managing directors of three commercial banks were also questioned on Tuesday over the fraud.
The scandal involving Edu burst open after a leaked memo revealed that the suspended minister directed the Accountant-General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, to transfer N585m to a private account owned by one Oniyelu Bridget, who the ministry claimed currently serves as the Project Accountant, Grants for Vulnerable Groups.
The Media Assistant to the minister, Rasheed Olarewaju, said in a statement that it was legal within the civil service for such payments to be made into private accounts of staff members, especially project accountants.
In deference to public pressure, the President on Monday suspended Edu and directed her to hand over to the permanent secretary in the ministry.
