Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have quizzed the Secretary of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Dr Mustapha Ali, over alleged fraud.
A source at the EFCC said on Wednesday in Abuja, that Ali was on Tuesday grilled by a crack team of anti-graft operatives at the EFCC Headquarters.
The source, who crave for anonymity said that the commission was on the final stage of its investigations on NAHCON, when some fresh facts emerged about alleged fraud in the commission.
According to the source, the secretary was given administrative bail and allowed to go after questioning by the team of investigators.
The source, however, said that the investigation was still ongoing and that Ali still has some questions to answer and could be invited for further questioning at any time.
Ali was appointed as NAHCON secretary on Feb. 28.
He succeeded Dr Abdullahi Kotangora, who was detained by the EFCC on Aug. 15, 2024, over alleged mismanagement of the N90 billion Hajj subsidy provided by President Bola Tinubu for the 2024 Hajj pilgrims.
Kontagora, who resigned in December 2024, was detained alongside the former NAHCON Chairman, Jalal Arabi.
Tecnews reports that the commission is being investigated over many alleged infractions that include procurement fraud amounting to billions, administrative high-handedness, and falsification of official documents, among others.
The anti-graft agency has recently launched a large-scale investigation into the Hajj commission activities, where it detained and grilled many officers in the course of the probe so far.
Ali was also said to be providing valuable information to the operatives in uncovering the alleged squandering of N25 billion on Masha’ir extra spaces, N1.6 billion on NAHCON staff spouses, and the N8 billion on Makkah contingency bed spaces.
Other issues being investigated by the EFCC include the alleged extra-budgetary spending of over 300 per cent of his approved budget, N25 billion expended on officials, staff, and board members, N1.4 billion as allowances of committees
Others are mismanagement of Madinah bed spaces from 11,000 to 18,000 for 41,000 pilgrims, causing huge financial losses to the country.
EFCC’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, however, declined comments on the matter.