Npower: ₦30,000,000,000 Recovered By Anti-graft Agency Not Linked To Me - Betta Edu

According to Npower News, the suspended Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, says she has nothing to do with the ₦30,000,000,000 recovered by the anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

On the 8th of January 2024, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu suspended Betta Edu and directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). “to conduct a thorough investigation into all aspects of the financial transaction” involving Betta Edu's ministry.

The social investment programmes which includes Npower, Conditional Cash Transfer, Government Enterprise And Empowerment Programme (GEEP), and the National Homegrown School Feeding Programme, were put on hold by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu after the suspension of Betta Edu.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has since been investigating the suspended minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Betta Edu and the ministry.

According to Npower News, In an update contained in a bulletin titled “EFCC Alert,” Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), said it is also investigating fifty bank accounts, adding that the ₦30,000,000,000 recovered is in the custody of the federal government.

"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,” Ola Olukoyede, EFCC chairman, was quoted as saying in the bulletin.

“Moreover, with respect to this particular case, we have recovered over ₦30,000,000,000, which is already in the coffers of the Federal Government.”

According to Npower News, in a letter issued on Wednesday, Chikaosolu Ojukwu, lawyer to Betta Edu, said: “Neither ₦30,000,000,000 nor any amount whatsoever has been traced to or recovered from our client’s bank accounts nor has any proceed of crime been traced or recovered from her…”

The letter addressed to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) offices in Abuja and London, also threatened to sue the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), if the publication on the matter was not taken down on its website.

"First and foremost, the language used in describing our client’s purported involvement in the alleged corruption case suggests guilt without allowing for the presumption of innocence, which is fundamental in any fair and unbiased reporting,” the letter reads.

“The reckless manner in which the article was crafted, without providing our client with the opportunity to respond to the allegations before its wide publication, is a clear breach of journalistic fairness and due process and demonstrates a complete disregard for journalistic integrity and professionalism. 

"This is a blatant attempt to tarnish our client’s reputation and undermine her credibility which she has earned over the course of her distinguished career in both private and public life.

“For the avoidance of doubt, our client has neither been indicted nor found culpable of any act of financial impropriety in relation to her stewardship of the Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Ministry in Nigeria.”

Chikaosolu Ojukwu, lawyer to Betta Edu, said Betta Edu the former minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation has “suffered immeasurable reputational damage, psychological trauma and anguish as a direct consequence of the publication and dissemination of the article”.

The letter demanded a complete withdrawal of the article and an apology within 2 days.

Chikaosolu Ojukwu, lawyer to Betta Edu, said failure to comply with the demands, simply means legal actions would be taken before the appropriate courts.

Chikaosolu Ojukwu, lawyer to Betta Edu, said the actions would be “to obtain redress for the injurious falsehood peddled in your article and to seek punitive and exemplary damages in the sum of US$ 50 million against the BBC for the damage and injury suffered by our client”.

Source: https://www.thecable.ng/n30bn-recovered-by-efcc-not-linked-to-me-says-betta-edu/amp/