Hajj fraud: Six NAHCON officials arrested, two released after refund

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Two senior officials of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over alleged fraud have been released.

They were freed after refunding funds allegedly misappropriated under their watch.

No fewer than eight top officials of the commission were arrested over allegations of mismanaging funds during the 2025 Hajj exercise.

Sources within the commission confirmed that about six senior officials remain in EFCC custody for failing to refund the alleged misappropriated funds.

“Two staff of NAHCON detained have been released. There are still about six more in custody.

Those released have paid back what was missing under them.

I can’t give you the specific amounts, but I know for sure they refunded the money. The six others won’t be released until they do the same. Investigation is still ongoing in the agency,” one of the sources said.

Efforts to reach EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, for official comments were unsuccessful as calls to his mobile line were not answered.

He had also yet to respond to a text message as of the time of filing this report.

In August 2024, The PUNCH reported that NAHCON Chairman, Jalal Arabi, and the commission’s Secretary, Abdullahi Kontagora, were detained by the EFCC over alleged mismanagement of the N90bn 2024 Hajj subsidy.

The anti-graft agency had recovered SR314,098 from the chairman and other senior officials at the time.

President Bola Tinubu, however, sacked Arabi less than a year into his tenure amid a corruption investigation.

Following the conclusion of the 2025 Hajj, the EFCC has again arrested several top officials of the commission as investigations into alleged misappropriation of funds continue. Punch