EFCC Returns ₦837.5m Stolen Public Funds to Katsina Govt

​KANO — In a major victory for Nigeria’s anti-corruption campaign, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has officially handed over recovered monetary exhibits totaling ₦837,485,389.00 to the Katsina State Government.

​The significant repatriation, which took place on Monday, May 18, 2026, at the EFCC’s Kano Zonal Directorate, followed extensive and painstaking investigations into two separate high-profile corruption cases involving the systemic diversion of the state’s public funds.

​The Zonal Director, Assistant Commander of the EFCC (ACE I) Friday S. Ebelo, presented the bank drafts to Dr. Kabir Abdullahi Yantumaki, the Executive Director of Standard and Compliance for the Katsina State Internal Revenue Service, who received the funds on behalf of the state government.

​According to a statement released by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewole, the returned funds are the direct proceeds of operations tracking the illicit siphoning of public money by corrupt civil servants and complicit banking officials.

​The WHO, MSF Tax Diversion Scandal

​The larger portion of the recovered cash—amounting to ₦547,015,389.00—stems from a petition authored by the Katsina State Government regarding the criminal diversion of nearly ₦1.3 billion meant for statutory tax remittances.

​The funds originated as tax obligations from prominent international humanitarian organisations operating within the state, including the World Health Organization (WHO), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and ALIMA.

​EFCC investigators discovered that six personnel from the Katsina State Board of Internal Revenue Service (BOIRS) had colluded with three commercial bank employees to systematically route the statutory taxes into a private bank account.

​A total of 12 suspects were subsequently rounded up and arraigned before the Katsina State High Court. Giving an update on the judicial proceedings, the Commission revealed that six of the suspects have already pleaded guilty and been convicted, while the remaining six are currently standing trial.

​Treasury Looting and Ghost Contracts

​The remaining ₦290,470,000.00 was recovered from a separate treasury-looting syndicate originally blown wide open by a 2021 intelligence report.

​The EFCC’s findings established that the former Sub-Treasurer, Sani Lawal BK, and the former Deputy Sub-Treasurer, Saadu Maiwada—both attached to the Office of the Accountant General of Katsina State—abused their positions to execute massive, unauthorized cash withdrawals from the Katsina State Sub-Treasury Expenditure Account.

​The diverted funds were funneled into the bank accounts of private companies owned directly by the officials. The anti-graft agency noted that no services were ever rendered and no public contracts were ever awarded to justify the substantial cash drawdowns.

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​The two former treasury officials were formally arraigned on July 11, 2023, on multi-count charges bordering on money laundering and criminal misappropriation of public funds. Their trials are currently ongoing across both Federal and State High Courts, with prosecution witnesses actively testifying.

​A Warning to Public Servants

​Speaking during the handover ceremony, ACE I Friday S. Ebelo emphasized that the EFCC remains fiercely committed to protecting Nigeria’s commonwealth and ensuring absolute accountability in public governance. He cautioned that public officials must stick strictly to established financial regulations, warning that the Commission’s radar is wide enough to catch any form of financial malfeasance.

​“This money belongs to the people of Katsina State, and I will urge that same be used judiciously for the betterment and developmental needs of the citizens,” Ebelo stated.

​While receiving the drafts, Dr. Yantumaki expressed profound gratitude to the EFCC leadership and its field operatives for their professionalism and unrelenting diligence. He gave assurances that the recovered ₦837.5 million would immediately be channeled directly into the state’s Consolidated Revenue Account to fund public infrastructure and services.