The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday arraigned a former Minister of Works before the Federal High Court in Abuja on 18 counts of money laundering, procurement fraud and abuse of office totalling ₦47 billion — the largest ministerial corruption case in Nigeria since the Halliburton bribery scandal.

The defendant, who served in the ministry between 2019 and 2023, is alleged to have awarded road construction contracts to companies owned by his associates without competitive tender, collecting kickbacks of between 20% and 35% of contract values through a network of shell companies.