PHOTO: EFCC Arrests Energy Commission DG Mustapha Abdullahi Over ₦500bn Fraud Allegations
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested the Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, Mustapha Abdullahi, over alleged money laundering involving funds said to be worth about ₦500 billion.
Sources within the anti-graft agency confirmed on Wednesday that Abdullahi was arrested in Abuja and is currently being detained by the commission as investigations continue into the massive fraud allegations.
The arrest has already triggered fresh concerns over accountability and financial transparency within Nigeria’s public institutions, especially at a time when the government is under pressure to improve confidence in the energy sector.
A senior EFCC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment publicly on the matter, disclosed that investigators are probing transactions linked to hundreds of billions of naira.
“We have arrested the Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, Dr Mustapha Abdullahi, for money laundering offences. He was arrested and is currently in our custody. The money involved is estimated at about ₦500 billion,” the source said.
As of the time of filing this report, the EFCC had yet to issue an official statement on the development.
Efforts to reach the commission’s spokesman, Dele Oyewale, were unsuccessful, as calls and messages sent to him were not responded to.
President Bola Tinubu appointed Abdullahi as Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria on October 24, 2023, as part of efforts to reposition the country’s energy planning and policy coordination agency.
The Energy Commission of Nigeria plays a major role in national energy planning, renewable energy development, energy research and policy coordination across the country.
The latest arrest adds to a growing list of high-profile corruption investigations involving top public officials and agencies in Nigeria’s power and energy sector.
The EFCC has intensified anti-corruption investigations in recent months amid increasing public pressure for stronger accountability in the management of public funds.
More details are expected to emerge as investigations continue.
