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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has released Jalal Arabi, the former Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), and Abdullahi Kontagora, the Commission's Secretary, on bail.
Pulse Nigeria earlier reported that the duo had been detained for allegedly mismanaging the ₦90 billion 2024 Hajj intervention fund.
Arabi and Kontagora spent five days in EFCC custody after failing to meet their bail conditions.
According to Punch, a source familiar with the case confirmed that the two officials were released on Monday, August 19, after fulfilling the necessary conditions.
"The former Hajj Commission chairman and the secretary have been released, and the investigation is still ongoing. They were released on Monday after meeting their bail conditions. Nothing yet on the matter. No other recoveries except for the earlier ones," the source stated.
EFCC findings
The EFCC's investigation into the mismanagement of the Hajj intervention fund has uncovered significant irregularities.
Reports revealed that Arabi and others allegedly overpaid themselves from the ₦90 billion allocated for the Hajj subsidy.
The anti-graft agency has recovered 314,098 Saudi Riyal so far as part of the ongoing probe.
Further investigation has exposed additional discrepancies, including the recovery of estacodes paid to staff who did not undertake scheduled study tours.
Payments were also made to Shuraka'a al-Khair Group Ltd for services that were not rendered.
It was revealed that documents for these payments were fraudulently backdated to enable the release of SAR 780,019.59 to the group.
In a critical development, President Bola Tinubu dismissed Arabi on August 19 and appointed Prof. Abdullahi Usman as his replacement.
Despite this, the EFCC's investigation continues, with the agency yet to account for the remaining funds in question.