Nigeria News: Ex-governors accused of huge fraud
Three former Nigerian governors are accused of stealing $647 million during their terms in office. This picture shows Nigerian voters waiting to cast their ballots on April 26, 2011 at a station in Jos, the capital of Plateau state, prior to the start of the gubernatorial elections.
In any country $647 million is a lot of money to steal, but in a country where most of the population scrapes by in abject poverty, it is venality in the extreme.
Yet this is the amount that three Nigerian state governors — elected officials — are accused of embezzling during their terms in office. In Nigeria’s federal system, state governors are immensely powerful and often control huge budgets.
Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission arrested the ex-governors of Nasarawa, Ogun and Oyo states on Thursday.
The EFCC outlined the scale of the alleged fraud saying that Adebayo Alao-Akala of Oyo State stole $167 million, Aliyu Akwe Doma of Nasarawa State stole $120 million and Olugbenga Daniel of Ogun State stole a staggering $387 million.
The three accused men are all members of President Goodluck Jonathan’s ruling People’s Democratic Party.
According to local newspapers, other governors are also in the EFCC’s sights.
The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. If you’ve been thinking about making a donation, this is the best time to do it. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. All donations between now and June 30 will be matched 2:1. Will you help keep our newsroom on strong footing by giving to The World?