Former Kaduna govt contractor arrested over N30 billion fraud allegations
A former Kaduna State Government contractor and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Formal Act Legacy Limited, Bashir Bello Ibrahim, has been arrested for alleged multiple fraud to the tune of N30 billion.
Ibrahim was arrested by the Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC, in a statement, noted that the former contractor, whose contract with the state government expired in 2023, was parading himself to unsuspecting victims as a consultant for the 23 local government areas in Kaduna State and the United Charity Foundation, UCF, FICCORD with affiliation to the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs Office.
The commission also received no less than 251 complaints from different sources against him.
“It is also alleged that he informed his victims that he had a 2020 Memorandum of Understanding, MoU with the Kaduna State government for the purpose of sourcing intervention grants from global donor agencies for the funding of LGA projects in the state and supporting the actualization of SDGs within the state,” the commission revealed.
The commission further revealed that Ibrahim engaged in unauthorised award of fictitious contracts to the tune of approximately N30 billion by convincing his victims to supply construction items.
He told his victims that the items were meant for the construction of hospitals, motorised boreholes, hospital beds and mattresses, drugs and vaccines. Ibrahim allegedly received the items on behalf of the state government, sold them and kept the proceeds for himself.
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 were recovered from him.
The commission also found large quantities of tablets, capsules, syrups, infusions, ointments/creams; medical consumables that include hand gloves, syringes, and mucus extractor in Ibrahim’s office.
EFCC further noted that it is collaborating with NAFDAC and the Kaduna State Ministry of Health to evaluate the cache of medicines found in his storage facilities as well as in carrying out qualitative analysis on them.
It also assured Nigerians that the former contractor will be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations.
