By Our Corespondents
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested the Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, Mustapha Abdullahi, over alleged money laundering involving more than N500 billion.
According to reports, Abdullahi was arrested in Abuja on Wednesday and is currently in the custody of the anti-graft agency as investigations continue into the alleged financial crimes.
Sources familiar with the development disclosed that the EFCC is probing alleged irregular financial transactions linked to the commission under his leadership.
“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 is to the tune of N500bn,” the official said.
Efforts to get confirmation from the EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, were unsuccessful as he could not be reached as of the time of filing this report.
Abdullahi was appointed as the third Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on October 24, 2023.
Before his appointment, he served as Senior Technical Adviser to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji.
The embattled official is a chartered engineer and a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
As of the time of filing this report, the EFCC had yet to issue an official statement on the arrest.
The development comes amid intensified anti-corruption efforts by the EFCC targeting public officials and government agencies over allegations of financial mismanagement and abuse of office.
