An official from the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has been accused of diverting agency funds into his personal company’s accounts, according to revelations by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
ICPC investigator Bariki Zaknayaba disclosed to the court that Usman Kwakwa, a staff member of the REA, allegedly used his personal company to siphon funds from the agency.
During the proceedings, presiding Judge Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja was told, through the testimony of the ICPC’s lawyer, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, that the investigation uncovered the unlawful payment of N215 million into Bizairabbi General Supply and Co Ltd’s bank account—a company owned by Kwakwa—between March and June 2023. This sum included N130 million and N85 million in separate transactions.
Additionally, it was revealed that N97 million was deposited into Kwakwa’s Zenith Bank account within the same period under the guise of payments for a project monitoring exercise.
According to reports from Daily Trust, the diverted funds were part of the N1.2 billion allegedly misappropriated by senior officials in the REA’s Finance and Account Department, including Abubakar Sambo, the Director of Finance and Account.
The ICPC investigation was initiated following several petitions from non-governmental organizations and the National Assembly regarding the activities of senior staff at the REA. “The head of the Investigation Department assigned the petitions to our team for investigation. The team drafted a strategy and it was approved. The petition is on embezzlement of N1.2 billion against the management of the Rural Electrification Agency,” Zaknayaba stated.
The investigation team requested bank statements and account details from several banks, including Zenith Bank, First Bank, Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB), and United Bank for Africa (UBA). The investigation revealed that between March and June 2023, N97 million was transferred to Kwakwa’s Zenith Bank account, and N215 million was deposited into his company’s account with Bizairabbi General Supply and Co Ltd.
Further scrutiny revealed that these transactions were authorized without written approval from the REA’s authorities. Zaknayaba explained the standard procedure for such payments: “A formal procedure starts with a memo by the managing director for approval. If the MD approves, the request is transmitted to Finance and Account, where payment vouchers are raised. The approval and payment vouchers are then forwarded to the initiator, who inputs the information into the system. The documents and the initiated payment are reviewed, and if satisfactory, they are finalized for payment.”
The investigation found that these procedures were bypassed, leading to unauthorized payments from the REA’s Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) platform.
Justice Nwite, after hearing the testimony, noted the serious nature of the allegations and adjourned the case for further proceedings.
