Despite the termination, Ibrahim allegedly continued to award fictitious contracts worth approximately N30billion.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested Bashir Bello Ibrahim, a former contractor with the Kaduna State Government and Chief Executive Officer of Formal Act Legacy Limited, over alleged fraudulent activities amounting to N30 billion.
The EFCC’s Kaduna Zonal Directorate disclosed that it had received at least 251 complaints against Ibrahim, accusing him of masquerading as a government consultant for all 23 local government areas in the state, as well as for the United Charity Foundation (UCF) and FICCORD —organisations with supposed links to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) office.
According to investigators, Ibrahim falsely claimed to have a valid 2020 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Kaduna State Government for sourcing donor grants to fund development projects.
However, the EFCC confirmed that the MoU had been terminated in October 2023 due to his failure to meet its terms.
Despite the termination, Ibrahim allegedly continued to award fictitious contracts worth approximately N30billion.
He reportedly persuaded victims to supply materials such as hospital beds, boreholes, drugs, and vaccines under the pretence that they were for government projects.
Meanwhile, rather than delivering the goods to the intended local councils, Ibrahim allegedly warehoused the items, sold some, and diverted the proceeds for personal use.
According to the commission, “These fraudulent acts coupled with his unilateral alteration of the nature of the contracts and their terms, allegedly led to the termination of the MoU he had with the state government in 2023.
Items recovered from him include Toyota Hilux pick up vans, ambulances, buses, dispatch motorcycles, caches of drugs and vaccines for children, stacks of hospital beds and mattresses and heavy duty generators.
“Found in his office store are large quantities of tablets, capsules, syrups, infusions, ointments/creams; medical consumables that include hand gloves, syringes, and mucus extractor.
“The Commission is collaborating with NAFDAC and the Kaduna State Ministry of Health in the evaluation of the cache of medicines found in his storage facilities as well as in carrying out qualitative analysis on them.
Following the inspections, Umar Ahmad Suleiman, Investigation and Enforcement Officer, Federal Tax Force, NAFDAC said some of the drug manufacturers registered with NAFDAC and that while some of the medicines are still within shelf life, some have expired with some being outright counterfeits and their manufacturers, unregistered with NAFDAC.
Corroborating the position of the NAFDAC official, Abubakar Isa Balarabe, a pharmacist and Team Leader, Ministry of Health Kaduna State observed that some of the medicines have expired, noting also that the warehouse where the medicines were stored fell below standard.
“The storage is not fit for any medicine because of the way and manner it was kept,” he said.
The suspect would be charged to court as soon as the investigation is concluded.
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