Nigeria's poverty minister 'had £19m in bank accounts'

Betta Edu was suspended on suspicion of corruption in Nigeria Photo: Noam Galai/Getty

Corruption investigation into suspended person Nigerian minister, the job is to help poor people recover £19 million from more than 50 bank accounts, a financial watchdog claims.

Betta Edu, the minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, has been suspended from work since January, the proposed redirection of £505,000 of public money into a personal bank account.

Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said that after six weeks of investigating the ministry, it had found «many angles» to explore, reports the BBC.

«This is not child's play»

Ola Olukode, the commission's chairman said in the latest agency newsletter: “We are currently investigating more than 50 bank accounts into which we have traced money.”

“This is not child's play. This is very important.”

In early January, President Bola Tinubu ordered a «thorough investigation into all aspects of the financial transaction» and officials suspended several government aid programs.

Dr Edu, 37, denied any wrongdoing at the time. Her office said she approved the transfer to a personal account that was not in her name, but said it was for the “implementation of grants to vulnerable groups.”

The money raised has already been transferred to government coffers , Mr. Olukode said, but cautioned that the investigation could be lengthy.

He said: “We are looking into so many discoveries that we have come across in the course of our investigation.

“If it's about seeing people in prison, well, let them wait, there is a process for everything.”

Nigerians complain that Africa's largest economy and most populous country continues to suffer from corruption, despite the government's constant promises to eradicate it.

In 2023, the country was ranked 25th on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, where zero means high corruption and 100 means very clean .