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An anti corruption advocacy group,
Centre for Social Justice, Equity and Transparency (CESJET) has written
to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara,
urging him to direct a total inquiry on the ongoing Investigative
Hearing on the activities of the National Emergency Management Agency
(NEMA).
The letter addressed to the Speaker and
signed by CESJET’s legal adviser, Edward Omaga, Esq said the House of
Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness
should be directed to invite the former NEMA DG, Alhaji Mohammed Sani
Sidi, the 6 suspended Directors and other indicted persons or
organizations for a holistic probe and not allow itself to be consumed
by political vendetta against political enemies of the Speaker.
In the letter dated April 20, 2018,
Omaga alleged that the ongoing probe appears to be targeted at the
current Director general, while the real culprits are left to walk
freely.
According to him, some elements within the House of Representatives are desperate to cover the tracks of the former Director-General and the suspended 6 Directors about the alleged fraud and violation of public trust.
According to him, some elements within the House of Representatives are desperate to cover the tracks of the former Director-General and the suspended 6 Directors about the alleged fraud and violation of public trust.
The
letter reads partly, “Honourable Speaker sir, you are very much aware
that upon resumption of duty of the current Director-General, the funds
left in the coffers of NEMA was a meagre N4.6 Million and a liability of
N1.5 Billion.
“The immediate past Director-General,
Alhaji Mohammed Sani Sidi, paid for contracts without proper
documentation and maintained 20 different accounts in various banks
despite his public servant status. The EFCC found suspicious deposits
amounting to 164, 000 US Dollars in his domiciliary account at Standard
Chartered Bank alone, all within 18 months. At the same time, he had up
to £58, 000 in his Pounds Sterling Account.
“the records are clear that the
suspended Director of Finance and Accounts, Akinbola Hakeem Gbolahan,
also maintained many bank accounts with questionable transactions. In
particular, his account in GTBank Plc contained suspicious deposits
totalling N27, 650,000. Also, deposits of over £37,000 and $120,000 were
found in his domiciliary accounts, and much of these deposits flowed
directly from NEMA.
“Similarly,
the acting Director of Special Duties, Mr. Umesi Emenike, diverted
funds meant for programmes and maintenance of the South-South Zone
operations of NEMA under his supervision. The funds were paid directly
into his accounts (14 of them have been discovered by EFCC in various
banks), instead of the Zonal Office Account. Mr. Emenike was found to
have withdrawn freely in cash, by electronic transfers or through ATM
Machines, without any evidence of the money being used for NEMA
activities.
“An EFCC report indicated that the
Director of Risk Reduction, Mr. Alhassan Nuhu, also maintained five bank
accounts which were apparently used as conduits to receive and
distribute money from NEMA coffers. According to the report, so far, Mr.
Nuhu has not been able to give a satisfactory account of the
transactions, including NEMA funds moving through him to a company
called Dambo Farms Limited.”
The
report also indicted others like the pilot in charge of NEMA’s Air
Ambulance, Mamman Ali Ibrahim, the Director of Welfare, M. Kanar
Mohammed
