EFCC goes after Governor Ortom over alleged N22b fraud
The Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom has been accused of N22 billion fraud by the EFCC.
The anti-graft agency also claimed it is investigating 21 members of the Benue State House of Assembly for allegedly diverting N375 million.
The EFCC said the N375 million was meant for the procurement of vehicles that would be used for oversight functions.
The allegations are contained in a report of an investigation which began in 2016.
According to the report, Ortom, between June 30, 2015 and March 2018, ordered the withdrawal of N21.3bn from four government’s accounts in Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank of Nigeria and the United Bank for Africa.
On paper, about N19bn out of the money was said to be meant for the payment of six security agencies that had been deployed in the state to address the incessant clashes between herdsmen and farmers.
However, the EFCC stated that less than N3bn of the money was paid to the security agencies while the remainder could not be accounted for.
