President Jonathan’s Principal Secretary, Hassan Tukur, Granted Bail In $40M Security Fraud

Officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) today granted administrative bail to Hassan Tukur, the principal secretary to former President Goodluck Jonathan. Mr. Tukur had been in detention for several days as EFCC operatives questioned him on a his alleged diversion of the bulk of $40 million he obtained to negotiate the release of more than 200 Chibok schoolgirls abducted by Islamist insurgents belonging to Boko Haram.

Two EFCC sources said Mr. Tukur’s release, one week after he was arrested, resulted from a series of meetings between his lawyer and EFCC officials. Last week, the anti-corruption agency had refused to grant bail to the embattled former principal secretary, citing instructions from “upstairs.”

One of our EFCC sources said Mr. Tukur was detained and interrogated on charges that included his reported pocketing of about $35 million out of $40 million budgeted for negotiating the release of Chibok girls. The EFCC source also disclosed that Mr. Tukur had also received more than N5 billion in duty waivers and was implicated in the purchase by the Nigerian government of a palatial home in Maitama, Abuja for a former President of Niger Republic.

Our source said Mr. Tukur was released yesterday, but ordered to report to the EFCC’s headquarters in Abuja whenever he was required to do so. The source added that Mr. Tukur cooperated by making numerous disclosures that are likely to lead to high profile arrests in the coming days.