The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has reportedly quizzed the APC Kwara Central senatorial candidate, Mallam Saliu Mustapha. He was grilled last week alongside one Yaro on allegation of fronting for the CBN governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele.
This newspaper sighted copies of statements given by both Mustapha and Yaro, after which they were allowed to go while investigations continue on their ties to the embattled Emiefiele.
It would be recalled that Kwaradaily.com broke the news on Tuesday, 20th December, 2022 https://kwaradaily.com/saliu-mustapha-others-on-watchlist-as-efcc-probes-prominent-politicians/ that the APC Senatorial Candidate is under the watch of the anti-graft agency. Following that report, Premium Times also reported the likelihood of the Central Bank Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele being a “fugitive from justice.” The Newspaper alluded to the recent application made to the courts by some security agencies for the arrest of Emefiele for several charges, including those bordering on financing terrorism.
Saliu Mustapha, who is also the Turaki of Ilorin, has been mentioned as part of the ongoing investigations into the N210b CBN Agric Intervention scam, which also involves the National Chairman of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, RIFAN, also believed to be on the run.
Like Emefiele, Mustapha has, before now, successfully avoided the prying eyes of the security agencies, until a closed-in on Emefiele in recent weeks, which led to the blockage of some of Mustapha’s bank accounts, including those with the Zenith and Standard Chartered Banks.
Aside the nation’s anti-graft agencies who are now investigating the sources of his humongous wealth, watchers of Nigerian political scene have also consistently been wondering about the sudden wealth of Salihu Mustapha who was not known to be rich before 2015, and whose line of business remains unknown.
In a recent attempt to put to use some of the alleged ill-gotten wealth, Mustapha bought a multi-billion naira property in the high brow Katampe Extension in Abuja, which used to belong to Salim Abou Jaude, the MD of SAGETO Ltd, which is also the construction company handling the project. Real Estate is one of the avenues for laundering ill-gotten wealth in Abuja by politically exposed persons.
Meanwhile, the media and civil society organizations are calling for the sack of the CBN governor in order to enable a proper investigation, with stakeholders in the financial sector calling for a comprehensive probe in order to curtail the damages Emiefele and his allies have wrought on the Nigerian economy.
*This is developing story.