Abuja — Five top officials of the Nigerian Film Corporation arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday have agreed to refund the money they were alleged to have embezzled from the corporation's coffers.

The officials, in the ranks of director and above, were arrested at the corporation's headquarters in Jos, Plateau State, over allegations of embezzlement of N11.8 million.

An EFCC source confirmed that after they were interrogated at the anti-corruption agency's headquarters in Abuja on

Tuesday, the officials confessed they had shared the money and promised to refund.

Daily Independent gathered that they are still in custody of the EFCC but the source maintained that they would have to be released to enable the commission recover the money.

It was learnt that trouble started for them when in February, the management of the corporation approached the Minister of Information and Communicatios proposing that the corporation's headquarters be moved to Abuja.

The EFCC source disclosed that the minister approved the movement but two months later (April) the approval was cancelled because the reason for which the management wanted the movement was inconsequential.

According to the source, "N11.8 million had, however, already been released for the movement but the officials decided not to refund the money to the ministry; they shared it among eleven staff of the corporation".

The source explained that only the five officials were found culpable because they masterminded the sharing, knowing that they money was not meant for them.

"Other people who got a part of the money benefited innocently without knowledge of where the money came from or what it was meant for," he further explained.

When contacted, EFCC's Head of Media and Publicity, Femi Babafemi, confirmed the arrest in Jos on Tuesday.