House of Representatives on Tuesday sought to know the whereabouts of the 44 million dollars recovered from the Nigeria Intelligence Agency by Economic and Financial Crime Commission in 2017.
This followed the denial by the Office of the National Security Adviser that the money was in its custody.
Director of Finance and Admin in the Office of the National Security Adviser, Brig. General Ja’afaru Mohammed told the House Adhoc committee probing the management of recovered fund between 2002 and 2020 that the ONSA has no business with recovered funds and assets.
Chairman of the adhoc Committee, Hon Adejoro Adeogun, had quoted the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission as saying that the fund recovered from the NIA office in Okoyi was in the custody of the Office of the National Security Adviser.
But General Mohammed told the Committee that the NIA money was not with the ONSA and that the office had nothing to do with recovered funds or the management of such.
He stated that the only money recovered from the NIA was about 41 million dollars which was the funds of the NIA which has been returned to the office on the directive of the President.
Mohammed said, “The NIA was under investigation and the President directed that the ONSA should take charge of the place. I was sent there to take charge of the funds of the agency. I went there and counted the money in their vault and it was about 41 million dollars.
“We kept that money and after the investigation, the President ordered that the money be returned to the agency. We have returned it to the owners as directed by the President.”