By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
Some ministers who served under the administration of late former President Muhammadu Buahri are currently being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on allegations of various financial crimes while in office.
Two of these ministers are former governors and are still members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), while the others held key offices before being appointed into the Federal Executive Council under Buhari.
In this article, Impact Nigeria Newspaper highlights these former ministers and the financial crimes they are being charged with.
Chris Ngige
The former Minister of Labour and Employment is the latest in the list of ex-ministers being arraigned by the EFCC over alleged financial crimes while in office.
He is being arraigned on an eight-count charge bordering on abuse of office and acceptance of gifts from contractors of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) while he served as its supervising minister between September 2015 and May 2023.
Ngige, who served as a two-term minister under Buhari between 2015 and 2023, pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The Federal High Court sitting Gwarinpa, Abuja remanded the former minister at the Kuje Correctional Centre on Friday, December 12, pending the hearing of his bail application and subsequent ruling on the application.
At the hearing of the bail application on Monday, December 15, Justice Mariam Hassan adjourned to Thursday, December 18, to rule on the application.
Abubakar Malami
Abubakar Malami, who served as the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice under Buhari, is under investigation by the EFCC on alleged money laundering-related matters, particularly about the operation of suspicious accounts.
Malami, who married the former president’s daughter, has spent days in the detention of the EFCC for failing to meet his bail conditions.
The EFCC is asking Malami to account for his investment worth N10 billion in Kebbi State, and some recovered Abacha loot, which was $322million from the Swiss account and about $22 million from the Island of Jersey in the UK.
Timipre Sylva
Another high-ranking member of Buhari’s cabinet under the EFCC’s watch is Timipre Sylva, former Bayelsa State governor and ex‑Minister of State for Petroleum Resources under Buhari.
The EFCC had on Monday, November 10, 2025, declared Sylva wanted in a statement by Dele Oyewale, the anti graft agency’s head of media and publicity, and shared via its verified X account.
It said the wanted notice followed a warrant of the Lagos State High Court dated November 6, 2025.
The agency said Sylva was declared wanted in connection with an alleged conspiracy and dishonest conversion of $14,859,257.
The EFCC said the funds were part of monies injected by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) into Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited for the construction of a refinery.
Before the wanted notice, the EFCC had allegedly sealed Sylva’s residence, following which the former minister’s spokesperson, Julius Bokoru, accused the EFCC of acting arbitrarily in seizing the property, describing it as a clear violation of democratic principles.
Bokoru accused the EFCC of exploiting its position for political gain, claiming the agency sealed the property without a subpoena, warrant, prior notice, or basic adherence to due process.
Sadiya Umar-Farouq
The former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development during the tenure of former President Buhari, is also under the EFCC’s radar.
Umar-Farouq is being investigated over accusations of fraudulent activities and alleged laundering of N37,170,855,753.44 during her term, alongside a contractor, James Okwete, who was detained by the EFCC after it was found that he took N37 billion and hid it in 38 bank accounts.
Umar-Farouq earlier denied link to or knowing James Okwete and did nothing wrong, adding that she could prove that she was honest and responsible when she was in service under ex-President Buhari.
The EFCC’s investigation also involves Halima Shehu, the suspended head of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), who was detained after a raid on the agency’s office.
Shehu oversaw major programmes like the Conditional Cash Transfer scheme during the Buhari administration.
Hadi Sirika
Hadi Sirika, former Minister of Aviation Minister, is currently facing multiple trials over alleged money laundering, contract inflation, abuse of office, and involvement in fraudulent aviation projects.
Sirika, who served between 2015 and 2023, was arraigned alongside his brother, Ahmad, and Enginos Nigeria Ltd, over their alleged roles in a N19.4 billion airport contract scandal.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges before Justice Suleiman Belgore of the Abuja High Court.
The EFCC alleged that Sirika used his position to improperly benefit his brother’s company by influencing the award of a N1.345 billion contract for the Katsina Airport terminal building.
Sirika, his daughter, and his son-in-law had earlier secured N100 million bail each over another case involving an alleged N2.7 billion Nigerian Air scam, with Sirika insisting that the process was legitimate despite controversies and public condemnation.
Mamman Saleh
Mamman Saleh served as Minister of Power under former President Buhari and has been arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja over an alleged N33.8 billion fraud case filed against him by the EFCC.
Saleh, who was appointed Minister of Power by Buhari in August 2019 and later relieved of his duties in September 2021, is facing a 12-count amended charge brought by the EFCC.
The EFCC, in a charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/273/2024, arraigned Mamman in July 2024 for allegedly conspiring with ministry officials and private companies to “indirectly convert” N33.8 billion meant for the Zungeru and Mambilla Hydro Electric Power projects.
The anti-graft agency had called 17 prosecution witnesses and tendered 43 exhibits before closing its case.
Mamman, however pleaded not guilty to the charges and subsequently filed a no-case submission on November 19 through his counsel, arguing that the prosecution had failed to present credible and reliable evidence to sustain a conviction or compel him to enter a defence.
In his ruling on Thursday, December 11, Justice James Omotosho, dismissed the no-case submission filed by Saleh and held that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against the former minister.
Justice Omotosho stressed that the evidence presented by the EFCC was sufficient for the defendant to provide explanations or mount a defence, particularly considering the seriousness of the allegations.
He, however, stressed that Mamman remains innocent until proven guilty but was simply being afforded his right to a fair hearing and to put in his defence.
