$1 billion stolen money recovered since 2015 – Malami

According to Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, the new administration has so far managed to recoup nearly $1 billion in stolen money.

Malami made this disclosure while briefing State House Correspondents following the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held last week at the Presidential Villa in Abuja under the chairmanship of President Buhari.

The Attorney General also said that a new Anti-Corruption Strategy Document has been adopted by Council to support national anti-graft initiatives.

He said that the confiscated assets had been used in a number of economic areas, including the fight against poverty.

Malami also noted that the government will take all necessary steps to combat instances of budget padding, which he termed as alarming.

Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, the minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management, and social development, had accused Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, budget, and national planning, of increasing the budget for the ministry of humanitarian affairs by N206 billion.

Farouq claimed that the Ministry requested some projects for the North East Development Commission and the National Social Safety Net Project in the 2022 budget, which were not released, but was surprised to see an inflated amount in the 2023 budget of the Ministry when he testified before the Senate Committee on Special Duties on Monday to defend the 2023 Budget.

Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi (rted), the Minister of Defense, had also informed the Senate that Ahmed had added a total of N11 billion to his Ministry’s 2023 budget.