How the Governor of Zamfara allegedly bought multi-billion naira properties in Abuja with funds linked to the State Treasury

Mr. Bello Mohammed Matawalle, the Governor of Zamfara State has recently made headlines for the wrong reasons. The unsavory reports ranged from his controversial outlawing of political campaigns and illegal banning of some state media outlets to the current allegation of embezzlement of billions of state-owned naira for the purchase of prime properties in the federal capital of Abuja. The embattled governor is being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged money laundering. The Governor however was granted a temporary reprieve when Federal High Court Judge Inyang Ekwo, in a decision read on Friday, October 14, 2022, prevented the EFCC from confiscating six prime properties in Abuja attributed to it.

Delivering the judgement, Judge Ekwo said: "From the position of the law, in particular Article 308 of the Constitution, the EFCC has no choice but to await the end of the mandate of the respondent."

The country's leading anti-corruption agency had gathered and presented to the court seemingly irrefutable evidence that Mr Bello Matawall had laundered Zamfara State money amounting to billions of naira to acquire the six main the following plots of land in the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja (FCT): (A) Plot 729, Idu Industrial Layout; (B) Plot 1327, Cadastral Area A05, Maitama District; (C) Plot 2934, Cadastral Area A06, Maitama District; (D) Plot 730, Cadastral Lone A06 Maitama District; (E) Plot 2804b, Cadastral Area A06, Maitama District & (F) Plot 515, Cadastral Area B00, Kukwaba District.

The EFCC litigation officer had been sworn in court and said that by his position he knew and knew the facts and circumstances in a request by the Commission for the defendant to lose in the interim the foregoing properties in the schedule below under section 17(1)(2)(3) and (4) of the Advance Charge Fraud and Other Fraud Offenses Act 2006.

The EFCC informed the Court that in October 2021, it had received an intelligence report from a patriotic Nigerian that the outgoing Zamfara State, Mr. Bello Mohammed Matagall, was illegally using public funds to acquire several properties worth billions of naira in the nation's capital. , Abuja.

The intelligence report revealed that between October 2020 and December 2020, the Zamfara State Ministry of Finance allegedly transferred a total sum of two billion one hundred seventeen million seven hundred and fifty one naira (N2, 117, 751,000:00) to Zenith Bank account number 1017028409 at the Investment and Business Development Branch, Office of the Executive Governor, Government House, Gusau, Zamfara State. A copy of the statement of account from the Directorate of Investment and Business Development was attached by the Commission and marked as Exhibit EFCC 3.

At some point in November 2020, a Mr. Abubakar Halliru allegedly contacted a Mr. Sani Bako to use his company (Aceworld Consult and Integrated Services Limited) to receive money from the State Government of Zamfara above and launder it by buying properties in Abuja. Again, a copy of Sani Bako's statement has been attached by the EFCC and marked as EFCC Exhibit 4.

Following the agreement, the sum of One Billion Seven Hundred Sixty Three Million Naira (N1,763,000,000:00) was deposited in the account of Aceworld Consult & Integrated Services Limited on 11 and December 16, 2020 to the bank account of the Directorate of Investment and Business Development, Office of the Executive Governor, Government House, Gusau, Zamfara State respectively. A copy of the Zenith Bank statement from AceworId Consult & Integrated Services was also attached by the Commission and marked as Exhibit EFCC 5.

On December 14, 2020, Mr. Sani Bako (CEO of Aceworld Consult & Integrated Services Limited) acting on the instruction of Mr. Abubakar Haliru, transferred the sum of Three Hundred and Fifty Million Naira (N350,000,000:00) in the Providus Bank Account number 5400550513 of Fezel Nigeria Ltd. in partial payment for the purchase of land 729, Idu Industrial Estate, Abuja, on behalf of Mr. Bello Matawall. A copy of Fezel Nig's Providus Bank account statement. Ltd was joined by the Commission and marked as EFCC Exhibit 6.

Furthermore, in December 2020, Mr. Abubakar Haliru contacted Ashafa Saidu, an unregistered Bureau de Change (BDC) operator, to allegedly receive funds from the said Zamfara State Government account and...