Photos have surfaced showing members of the APC Youths protesting at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja on Friday. They were demanding that the anti-corruption agency investigate Bello Matawalle, the current Minister of State for Defence, over accusations of a N70 billion fraud. The youths, who belong to the All Progressives Congress Young Leaders Alliance (APC-YLA), carried placards and shouted anti-corruption slogans during the protest.

The protesters accused the EFCC of turning a blind eye to the numerous corruption claims surrounding the former governor of Zamfara State. They claimed that the EFCC has ignored several credible petitions that highlight how Matawalle allegedly misappropriated public funds during his tenure from 2019 to 2023.

In their letter to the EFCC, the group formally requested the reopening of the investigation into Matawalle’s alleged corruption. They criticized the minister’s recent TV interview where he denied ever managing N70 billion in four years, calling his statement a lie, and pointing out that state financial records and official budgets contradicted his claim.

Mohammed Ireyi, the spokesperson for APC-YLA, spoke to the press during the protest, accusing the EFCC of unfairly targeting some former officials while letting others, like Matawalle, off the hook. He questioned why the EFCC had not acted against Matawalle, despite the agency’s previous admission that it was investigating him for significant corruption, including the alleged misallocation of over N70 billion.

The protesters pointed out that despite public statements from the EFCC in May 2023 about investigating Matawalle for corruption, there had been no visible progress. This delay led them to question whether the EFCC had been compromised or was deliberately not pursuing the case. They called on the EFCC to prove it was not selectively prosecuting political figures.

The group submitted their letter to Idowu Adedeji, the acting director of security at the EFCC, who promised to forward it to the appropriate authorities. The protest highlighted the public’s frustration with the perceived lack of action on the investigation into Matawalle, despite earlier promises from the EFCC.

Matawalle, who served as governor of Zamfara from 2019 to 2023, was appointed Minister of State for Defence by President Bola Tinubu. Critics now believe that his position may be protecting him from accountability, contributing to the growing calls for an investigation.