Five Kogi officials divert N230m pension fund, police recover N20m

For diverting N230 million pension fund, five civil servants in Kogi State have been arrested.
So far, N20 million has been recovered from them, revealed the Accountant-General of the state, Alhaji Yusuf Okala, in Lokoja, the state capital.
The money was part of funds released by the administration of Captain Idris Wada for the payment of pensioners.
Okala, who is also the Chairman of the Staff Screening and Verification Committee, said the alleged fraud was discovered in the course of the committee’s work.
Okala said: “It is true. We have been able to recover N20 million from them through the efforts of the state police command.”
The state Auditor-General, Alhaji Ahmed Ododo, also assured that the money would be recovered in full from the suspects.
While commending the state government for setting up the committee, Ododo declared that the civil servants would be arraigned soon.
Over 9,000 retirees in the state are owed between four and five months pension arrears as a result of the alleged diversion.