Nigeria’s head of treasury, Ahmed Idris, has been arrested for his involvement in money laundering and fraud worth 80 billion nairas (€184 million), said the national anti-graft agency.
Nigeria’s accountant general, Ahmed Idris, was caught on Monday, May 16, “after failing to honour invitations” to react to the allegations, said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a statement given on Monday evening. He is now encountering charges of money laundering and fraud.
As per the EFCC, Idris extracted huge funds via fake consultancy firms and carried out other illegal activities with the use of agents,
According to the EFCC, Idris “extracted funds via fake consultancy firms and other illicit activities using agents, family members and close associates.”
As per the Commission, these funds were then invested by Idris in real estate in Abuja, the capital city, and in his home state of Kano, in northern Nigeria. Ahmed Idris did not react to the accusations.
President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, a former army general, was elected in the year 2015 on a promise to fight endemic corruption in the nation, which is the continent’s top oil producer.
Under the leadership of Buhari, the EFCC has secured a series of high-profile conviction cases, including those of state governors, ministers, prominent politicians and senior civil servants.
In 2021, the Commission stated that it had recovered around $750 million (€714 million).
However, critics accused that the EFCC, which was established in 2003, has conducted a witch-hunt against the opponents of the president.
Ahmed Idris, who is held as the culprit in this fraud, is a Nigerian financial accountant and incumbent Accountant General at the Federation of the country. He was selected as Accountant General in 2015 on June 25 to succeed Jonah Ogunniyi Otunla, who President Buhari fired on an allegation of misappropriation of N2.5 billion of security agencies’ funds.
