EFCC Detains Nigeria’s NAHCON Finance Commissioner, Director Over Alleged N50Billion Fraud In 2025 Hajj Exercise – Report
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has detained the Commissioner of Policy, Personnel, and Finance (PPMF) at the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Aliu Abdulrazak, over alleged fraud.
Reliable sources within the anti-graft agency confirmed to SaharaReporters that Abdulrazak was detained alongside NAHCON’s Director of Finance and Accounts (DFA), Aminu Y. Muhammed.
Both officials reportedly honoured an invitation to the EFCC headquarters around 11 a.m. on Monday. As of late Monday night, they remained in the custody of the anti-corruption agency.
The development comes on the heels of mounting allegations of mismanagement in the conduct of the 2025 Hajj, which the Forum of Chief Executives of State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards/Agencies/Commissions recently described as “a total failure” under NAHCON Chairman, Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman (popularly known as Professor Pakistan).
In a review meeting with the commission in Abuja last week, the forum raised 16 issues, with seven directly linked to corruption and financial infractions, now being probed by the EFCC.
Insiders disclosed that Abdulrazak and Muhammed are also under investigation for their alleged involvement in another case of fund diversion dating back to the tenure of former chairman, Ahmad Jalal Arabi.
Earlier this month, the EFCC had also interrogated other senior NAHCON officials, including Abdulmalik Diggi, Deputy Director (Accounts) and Special Adviser (General Services) to the Chairman/CEO; Sirajo Usman Salisu, Deputy Director in the Chairman’s Office; and Barrister Nura Danladi, the commission’s Legal Adviser.
Findings reveal that the EFCC is currently probing alleged financial misconduct involving more than ₦50 billion under the leadership of Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman, popularly known as “Pakistan.”
Pakistan, who oversaw only the 2025 Hajj exercise, is facing allegations of massive financial misconduct, including the alleged squandering of ₦25 billion on Masha’ir tents, ₦1.6 billion on spouses, and ₦7.9 billion on contingency houses in Makkah.
He is also accused of authorising extra-budgetary expenditure exceeding presidential approval, with funds reportedly diverted to cover expenses for NAHCON officials, stakeholders, and their spouses, amounting to an additional ₦25 billion.
Efforts to reach Mr Abdulrazak and the DFA for comments on Monday night were unsuccessful, as their mobile lines remained switched off. However, a senior official of the commission confirmed the detention late Monday.
“As I am talking to you now, they are still with the EFCC,” he said without providing further details.
Some stakeholders and staff of the Hajj Commission, who spoke to this newspaper on condition of anonymity, said the detained commissioner and the DFA should be immediately suspended to ensure transparency.
“President Bola Tinubu should act quickly by disbanding the current NAHCON leadership and appoint a sole administrator with Hajj operational and administrative experiences to put the commission back in order,” one of them said.
The NAHCON staff, however, welcomed the development, commending the EFCC for its bold efforts to restore the commission’s lost glory by tackling corruption in all its forms.
Stakeholders further urged the EFCC to carry out a comprehensive investigation and prosecution that would not only guarantee the recovery of misappropriated funds but also ensure that indicted officials are held accountable under the law.
SaharaReporters gathered that former chairmen, Mr. Zikirullah Kunle Hassan and Mr. Ahmad Jalal Arabi, were earlier granted bail by the EFCC after facing investigation. Similarly, the immediate past Commissioner of Policy, Personnel and Finance, Nura Yakasai, was interrogated and later released on bail. (SaharaReporters)
