The politician was arrested on Sunday over his connection to the suspended Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, who is now under investigation.

The EFCC is looking into allegations that the accountant-general misappropriated N80 billion.

After failing to reply to requests from the anti-graft agency to address questions about the accusation, the AGF was detained in Kano State a few weeks ago.

While the investigation continues, Yari was apprehended by the anti-graft agency on Sunday, just hours after he won the ruling All Progressives Congress’s (APC) ticket for the Zamfara West senatorial race next year.

Recall that in April 2021, Yari was detained by the agency over alleged illegal financial dealings and misappropriation of funds.

In February 2021, he was arrested and grilled by EFCC operatives in Lagos, while the Federal High Court in Abuja had, on January 26, 2021, ordered the final forfeiture of funds belonging to Yari, domiciled in Zenith and Polaris banks.

The judgment followed investigations that Yari had suspicious monies stuffed in his bank accounts including the sum of $56,056.75 reportedly lodged in his account with Polaris Bank; N12.9 million, N11.2 million, $303 million, N217,388.04, and $311.8 million said to be kept in different Zenith Bank accounts in the name of the ex-governor and his companies.

A source was said to have revealed to Sahara Reporters that there are at least two solid cases of financial misappropriation for which the former governor and NGF chairman are being investigated.

The first was the investigation which opened in February 2021 centering around over N300 billion he allegedly attempted to move from a corporate account linked to him in a commercial bank.

The invitation letter dated April 6, given to Yari to report at the Sokoto EFCC office, was signed by the EFCC’s Director of Operations, Abdulkarim Chukkol, Naija News understands.

It stated that Yari’s interrogation would be based on “conspiracy, diversion of public funds and money laundering.”
SaharaReporters gathered that Yari is also being investigated for his alleged role in the judgment debts around the Paris Club refunds as claimed by some private firms.”

His handling of the proceeds of Paris Club refunds from 2017, when he was the NGF chairman, to May 2019 when his second term as governor ended, is being investigated.

A court document filed by the anti-graft agency in 2017 revealed the suspicious nature of payments by the Yari-led NGF to consultants and firms who were said to have helped the forum recover funds with the London and Paris clubs loan between 1995 and 2002.

According to the document, the EFCC received information in January 2017 claiming “conspiracy, criminal misuse of public funds involving the sum of N19,439,225,871.11 from the Paris Club reimbursements issued by the Federal Government in favour of the 36 states of the federation.”

In a court petition, the commission requested a forfeiture order for N500 million and $500,000 reportedly recovered from Yari.

In a post promoting Yari for the ruling party’s chairmanship position, which was seen by SaharaReporters, the former governor was described as a “loyal and committed member of the party, not driven by hunger or lust for money but can even sacrifice his personal resources to lift the party”.
“One who is not proud and arrogant but accessible to all members of the party,” it also said.