EFCC quizzes NAHCON finance officials over alleged fraud

• Hajj commission warns against media trial, pledges cooperation
• Court jails businessman for failure to declare $49,000 at airport

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has quizzed two senior officials of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) over alleged financial misconduct linked to the 2025 hajj operations.

Those invited were the Commissioner of Policy, Personnel and Finance (PPMF), Aliu Abdulrazak, and the Director of Finance and Accounts (DFA), Aminu Y. Muhammed.

An official at NAHCON, however, told The Guardian on Tuesday that both officials had left the Commission’s office, saying that they did not spend the night in EFCC custody as earlier reported.

However, the EFCC Spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, could not be reached for comment. Meanwhile, NAHCON, yesterday, warned against media trial, saying that it is committed to accountability and cooperation with relevant anti-graft agencies.

In a statement signed by its Assistant Director of Information and Publication, Fatima Sanda Usara, NAHCON described the allegations as unverified while assuring that it won’t shield any staff found wanting.

IN another development, Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, sitting as vacation judge in Lagos State, yesterday, convicted and sentenced a businessman, Duru Ikechukwu Damian, to three months’ imprisonment for failing to declare $49,000 to the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.

Justice Dipeolu also ordered the forfeiture of the entire $49,000 to the Federal Government.

The conviction followed Damian’s guilty plea to a one-count charge filed against him by the EFCC. EFCC counsel, Deborah Adamu-Eteh, led the Commission’s investigating officer, Muhammad Adamu Timta, to review the facts of the case after the defendant admitted being guilty of the offence.