The Executive Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Jalal Arabi, along with the commission’s secretary, Abdullahi Kontagora, have been detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in connection with the alleged mismanagement of the N90 billion 2024 Hajj subsidy.
Staff of Nahcon who spoke on condition of anonymity alleged that, the tenure of Arabi has witnessed massive corruption ever in the history of NAHCON, and the search lights will expose more if done well by the anti-corruption agencies
The EFCC has recovered a total of SR314,098 from the NAHCON chairman and other top officials. The anti-graft agency’s investigation revealed that Arabi had fraudulently overpaid himself and others beyond the approved operational costs for the 2024 Hajj.
The official budget for the 2024 Hajj allocated specific amounts for key personnel: $4,250 for the Chairman/CEO, $12,750 for Commissioners, $3,825 for the Secretary, and $15,300 for Directors/Chief of Staff. However, the EFCC alleged that these amounts were significantly inflated. The chairman, who was entitled to SR15,929, instead received SR50,000. Three commissioners, who should have received SR15,929 each, were paid SR40,000 each. The secretary and directors were also overpaid, receiving SR30,000 each instead of the SR14,336 and SR2,550 they were entitled to, respectively.
Arabi had been previously interrogated by the EFCC on July 29 and released on bail. However, on Wednesday, both Arabi and Kontagora were re-arrested by the EFCC and are currently undergoing intensive questioning over the alleged misappropriation of funds.
Further investigations have revealed that a substantial sum of SR8,614,175.27, withdrawn from NAHCON’s account, remains unaccounted for. The EFCC also uncovered fraudulent payments to Shuraka’a al-Khair Group Ltd for consultancy services that were never rendered, amounting to over SR1 million.
The case has led to the recovery of estacodes from NAHCON staff who did not participate in scheduled study tours, and funds paid for unrendered services have also been recovered.
