Fact Check: Did ICPC Raid NAHCON Office Over Hajj Subsidy Funds?
Emerging news report in some National dallies claim that operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Wednesday raided the headquarters of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Abuja over mismanagement of N90bn intervention for the 2024 Hajj.
According to the report, the anti-graft operatives who “stormed” the Hajj house shutdown activities in some strategic offices.
To authenticate the veracity of the report PRNigeria fact check reached out to the Spokesperson of the Hajj Commission, Fatima Sanda Usara who stated that there was absolutely no raid of the NAHCON office by officials of the ICPC.
“It was not a raid, they simply came to see some of our officials whom they have previously invited in relation to an ongoing case, the official was not even on ground when they came and so they did not even enter our office. They waited for him patiently outside the premises. When he came, they interacted with him and left peacefully. Their visit has nothing to do with the Chairman as falsely reported by the Guardian,” she explained.
To verify her claims, PRNigeria fact check contacted the spokesperson of the ICPC, Demola Bakare who corroborated Usara stating that it was just a standard operational visit.
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“Yes, we are investigating officials of the National Hajj Commission. Because they either failed or refused to honour the invitation. We therefore paid them a visit. We didn’t shut down the Commission as some reported. ICPC operates within the confines of the law.
“The Officials arrested, who I can’t name, were released on bail and would henceforth be helping the investigation until it is concluded,” Bakare told PRNigeria.
Similarly, findings by PRNigeria reveal that an investigation over N90bn for Hajj operation is being handled by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and not the ICPC.
On 30th July 2023, Punch reported that the Chairman of NAHCON, Alhaji Jalal Arabi was invited by the EFCC to explain how his commission spent the N90 billion subsidy provided for the 2024 hajj exercise.
Arabi had previously explained that the N90 billion approved by President Bola Tinubu was used to subsidise the fares of pilgrims and other pilgrimage logistics.
He was quoted as saying, “Each pilgrim was supported with N1,637,369.87 from the N90bn except for pilgrims under the Hajj Savings Scheme who enjoyed more.
“Hence, all registered intending pilgrims, except those on HSS, were required to pay a balance of N1,918,094.87 since the N90bn was not sufficient to make up for the balance.”
Conclusion
Findings by PRNigeria reveals that the ICPC did not storm the Hajj Commission nor shut down its activities as reported by some sections of the media. The anti-corruption agency visited the commission over a case involving some officials under investigation. PRNigeria therefore concludes that claims that officials of ICPC raided the headquarters of NAHCON over mismanagement of N90bn intervention is false.
By PRNigeria
