EFCC arrests ex-government contractor over alleged N30b fraud in Kaduna
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested Bashir Ibrahim, a former contractor with the Kaduna State government and CEO of Formal Act Legacy Limited, over alleged multiple frauds amounting to N30 billion.
The EFCC’s Kaduna Zonal Directorate said in a statement on Friday that despite the termination of his contract with the state government, Ibrahim continued to present himself to unsuspecting individuals as a consultant for the 23 local government areas of Kaduna State.
According to the Commission’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, no fewer than 251 complaints have been received against the suspect. Victims allege that he falsely claimed affiliation with the United Charity Foundation (UCF), FICCORD, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Office.
He reportedly told his targets that he had a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 2020 with the Kaduna State Government to source intervention grants from international donor agencies to fund local government projects and support SDG implementation in the state.
The EFCC said investigations are ongoing and assured the public that justice will be served.
According to the statement, “while investigations revealed that the suspect is not a consultant to UCF, his 2020 MoU with Kaduna State government was terminated by the state government in October 2023 as a result of default on the terms of the MoU by the suspect.
“However, despite the termination of the MoU, the suspect intentionally engaged in unauthorised award of fictitious contracts to the tune of approximately N30 billion (Thirty Billion Naira) by convincing his contractor victims to supply items meant for construction of hospitals, motorised boreholes, hospital beds and mattresses, drugs and vaccines which he would allegedly receive on behalf of the Kaduna State government, sold some and diverted their proceeds to his personal use.
“From investigations, it was further discovered that when he took delivery of the supplies, he would warehouse them, kept the LGAs in the dark about their delivery, and failed to pay his contractors the value of what they supplied. It is also alleged that the suspect was selling contract award papers using proxies with whom he shared the proceeds.
“These fraudulent acts, coupled with his unilateral alteration of the nature of the contracts and their terms, allegedly led to the termination of the MoU he had with the state government in 2023.
“Items recovered from him include Toyota Hilux pick-up vans, ambulances, buses, dispatch motorcycles, caches of drugs and vaccines for children, stacks of hospital beds and mattresses, and heavy-duty generators. Found in his office store are large quantities of tablets, capsules, syrups, infusions, ointments/creams, medical consumables that include hand gloves, syringes, and a mucus extractor.
“The Commission is collaborating with NAFDAC and the Kaduna State Ministry of Health in the evaluation of the cache of medicines found in his storage facilities, as well as in carrying out qualitative analysis on them.
“Following the inspections, Umar Ahmad Suleiman, Investigation and Enforcement Officer, Federal Tax Force, NAFDAC, said some of the drug manufacturers registered with NAFDAC, and that while some of the medicines are still within shelf life, some have expired, with some being outright counterfeits and their manufacturers unregistered with NAFDAC.
“Corroborating the position of the NAFDAC official, Abubakar Isa Balarabe, a pharmacist and Team Leader, Ministry of Health, Kaduna State, observed that some of the medicines have expired, noting also that the warehouse where the medicines were stored fell below standard. The storage is not fit for any medicine because of the way and manner it was kept,” he said.
The Commission however stated that, the suspect will be charged to court as soon as the investigation is concluded.
