National News
Fraud and Mismanagement Rock INGO’s IDP Cash Assistance Effort in Bama
Fraud and Mismanagement Rock INGO’s IDP Cash Assistance Effort in Bama
By: Zagazola Makama
Corruption has recently undermined humanitarian efforts in Bama, located in the northeast of Borno State, where aid workers responding to the 13-year insurgency have been accused of fraud.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Mercy Corps oversee a multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA) program, providing financial aid to newly arrived internally displaced persons (IDPs) at Bama IDP Camp. This program aims to meet the basic needs of the refugees, alleviate their households’ financial burdens, and guide them towards sustainable recovery.
Despite being designed to assist 1,000 selected IDPs, the program has been tainted by fraudulent activities carried out by humanitarian workers. This has led the United Nations to establish an investigative team to look into the accusations.
Here’s how the issue unfolded:
From November 2023 to January 2024, the IOM compiled a list of 1,000 newly arrived IDPs to receive cash assistance and issued them tokens. However, during the distribution process, it was discovered that 83 IDPs had already departed the camp for Pulka, Banki, and Konduga to reunite with family, resulting in excess tokens.
An IOM volunteer, tasked with training women in tailoring, was given 50 of these surplus tokens to distribute under a covert arrangement with an IOM officer. This deal stipulated that each recipient would return 95% or 80% of the cash received. After compiling the list, it was sent to Mercy Corps for verification before the commencement of the cash distribution. Each beneficiary was to receive N91,030.
When the funds were disbursed, however, the IDPs who received tokens through the IOM volunteer were asked to return amounts between N86,000 and N70,000. This caused discontent among some IDPs, who felt cheated out of the full N91,030 they were entitled to.
Mr. Abdulrahman Busube, the Councillor of Bama, initiated an investigation after 33 IDPs complained of receiving only N20,000 or N5,000. Busube promptly reported the matter to the police, leading to the questioning of the IOM volunteer. The police found her with 42 tokens and N600,000, but she claimed to have received these from “Judith,” an IOM staff member overseeing the program, for collecting the kickbacks.
Judith was summoned by the police but denied any involvement, despite the volunteer’s insistence that she was acting under Judith’s instructions. Alhaji Modu Ali Gujja, the Chairman of Bama, called for a thorough investigation.
On February 26, a five-member IOM team visited Bama to investigate the fraud allegations. They met with the camp coordination team and interrogated the accused volunteer, who stood by her story. Camp officials informed the investigators that numerous complaints had been received about IDPs being shortchanged and that some recipients of new arrival tokens were actually Bama community members, not IDPs.
During a subsequent emergency meeting at the UN Humanitarian Hub in Bama, which included various officials and two participants joining virtually from Maiduguri, Judith again denied distributing the 50 tokens.
However, the situation took a turn when some of the N600,000 recovered by Busube was misappropriated. While the investigation was ongoing, the Chairman directed the Councillor to distribute N5,000 to each of 92 new arrival IDPs and N10,000 to each of ten head of households. However, of the N600,000, Busube only presented N450,000, with N150,000 unaccounted for. When questioned about the discrepancy, Busube claimed he had used the funds to settle the police and shared N45,000 among his fellow councillors.
Busube maintained that some of the money was distributed to the police and the remaining was shared among the new arrivals and heads of households, with 92 new arrivals each receiving N5,000 and ten households each receiving N10,000.
This misappropriation came to light amidst the ongoing investigation into the broader corruption scandal within the humanitarian operations in Bama. The situation highlights not only the initial fraud committed by the IOM volunteer and potentially other staff members but also the subsequent mismanagement of recovered funds by a local official.
The case continues to be under scrutiny, with calls for accountability and transparency to restore integrity to the aid efforts in the region.
Fraud and Mismanagement Rock INGO’s IDP Cash Assistance Effort in Bama
National News
Nigeria, China May Head for Diplomatic Row Over Shooting of Immigration Officer at Chinese Firm
Nigeria, China May Head for Diplomatic Row Over Shooting of Immigration Officer at Chinese Firm
By: Michael Mike
Nigeria is not taking lightly the shooting of an immigration officer at a Chinese firm in Jos, Plateau State.
The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo who narrated the story,
The federal government has threatened a serious diplomatic row with the Republic of China over maltreatment of a Nigerian Immigration Service officer shot by a Chinese company in Nigeria for asking for the company’s expatriate list.
Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who narrated the story on Thursday in Abuja at a stakeholders sensitisation workshop on the implementation of the Nigeria Visa policy 2025, said Nigeria is not handling the matter with kid gloves as it would be taken up as a diplomatic issue.
Tunji-Ojo lamented that the development alone is an attack on Nigeria. It will never be condoned.
He said the Immigration officer, who was on official duty, had visited the Chinese company in Jos, Plateau state, to check the list of the company’s expatriates, but the owner of the company ordered a security officer in the premises to shoot the government official.
Tunji-Ojo said: “I won’t go to China as a Nigerian, open a company and tell my security to shoot a government official in uniform. It’s never done anywhere in the world.
“These officers put their lives on the line. These officers serve this country with their all. And you will not come from anywhere and ask them to shoot them in their fatherland.
“It will no longer happen. We will take it up with you. Because that company, we (Nigerian government) have the power to withdraw their business permit Nigeria and declare them illegal.”
He wondered how it had become an offence for an Immigration officer to visit a foreign company and demand to see their expatriate list.
He said: “It will not happen again. So we’re going to be very hard. We will not stop your business. We will not overburden your business. But don’t make us inferior in our own land. No, please.
“And we’re going to be very tough on this. Because talking to you, I’m not just talking with passion on this topic, I’m talking with a lot of anger, because that guy that was shot is a Nigeria that we all swore to protect by virtue of the laws of Nigeria, by the constitution. That Immigration guy was not shot by a terrorist, is a father, he is a son to somebody. He is a husband to somebody. That cannot happen anywhere in the world.
“We will not tolerate it. Please, no agent, no company is above the law,” the Minister declared
Nigeria, China May Head for Diplomatic Row Over Shooting of Immigration Officer at Chinese Firm
Nigeria Explores CNG Technology to Power Defence, Industrial Vehicle Fleets
By: Michael Mike
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar has led a high-level delegation on a tour of UROVESA—a renowned Spanish manufacturer of military and industrial vehicles.
The visit focused on exploring potential collaboration in Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) technology for powering Nigeria’s defence and industrial vehicle fleets.
The minister was accompanied on the visit by key figures including the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ekperikpe Ekpo; Presidential CNG Initiative representative, Engr. Michael Oluwagbemi; Engr. Henry Oki; and the Special Assistant for Gas Business and Investment to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), where they all engaged in detailed discussions with UROVESA executives.
During the visit, Tuggar emphasized the longstanding trade ties between Nigeria and Spain, noting that Spain remains one of Nigeria’s top trading partners, with Nigerian crude oil exports reaching $3.64 billion in 2023.
He lauded UROVESA’s innovative approach to producing all-terrain, armoured, tactical, and logistical vehicles, and expressed Nigeria’s growing interest in and implementation of CNG-powered solutions.
Tuggar also highlighted Nigeria’s business-friendly economic reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, which have positioned the country as a prime destination for investment in clean energy technologies. The discussions provided a valuable platform for further exploration of future collaborations between UROVESA and Nigeria’s Ministry of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) in CNG-powered vehicle production and supply.
According to a statement by the foreign affairs minister spokesman, Alkasim AbdulKadir, the engagement not only reinforced Nigeria’s commitment to a green energy future but also laid the groundwork for modernizing the nation’s defence and industrial fleets with environmentally friendly and cost-effective energy solutions.
He said the promising outcome of the discussions sets the stage for a strategic partnership that is expected to foster sustainable innovation and drive economic growth for both Nigeria and UROVESA.
Nigeria Explores CNG Technology to Power Defence, Industrial Vehicle Fleets
ECOWAS Hands Over Drug Rehabilitation Centre to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital
By: Michael Mike
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has handed over a drug rehabilitation center to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital in North West Nigeria to enhance drug related treatments.
Handing over the facility, the Director Humanitarian and Social Affairs, ECOWAS Dr. Sintiki Tarfa Ugbe, represented by Head of ECOWAS Drug Prevention and Control Division Dr. Daniel Amankwaah expressed the commitment of ECOWAS in fostering regional cooperation and providing technical and financial assistance to member states in tackling substance abuse.
He explained that, the renovated and equipped facility stands as a symbol of ECOWAS shared responsibility to protect public health, promote human dignity, and offer a second chance to those struggling with drug dependence.
He said: “As ECOWAS officially hand over this facility which was funded through ECOWAS own resources, we reaffirm our commitment to expanding access to quality drug treatment services and strengthening the resilience of our communities across West Africa.”
According to him, the ECOWAS Commission, under its drug prevention and control programme launched the support to its Member States to build or renovate their drug treatment centres.
He said: “the project targets all Member States to have at least one national drug treatment centre. So far, 8 centres in 6 Member States have been completed. Additional 12 centres are currently at various stages of construction. In Nigeria, 4 centres have been completed and additional 3 are at various stages.”
He expressed confidence that, the the facility will contribute to improving social functioning, by reducing the harmful effects of substance use, and enhancing the quality of life for people who use Drugs (PWUDs).
The Chief Medical Director Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Professor Abdurrahman Abba -Sheshe while thanking ECOWAS for the projects, described drug addiction and substance abuse as a pandemic that requires the support of the regional body.
He expressed confidence that, the well equiped facility will transform lives of addicts.
“I commend the NDLEA for their efforts in the fight against drug abuse not only in Kano state but the entire country. It requires all to achieve the desired results.”
The Commander of Narcotics National Drugs Laws Enforcement Agency NDLEA Kano State Ahmad Idris, informed the gathering that, the Kano command successfully counseled and rehabilitated over 100 in clients in 2024 representing a 43% increase from 2023 with significant increase in the campaigns against drug abuse
He noted that, the intensified War Against Drug Abuse WADA activities have contributed to the growth in the rate of client counseling.
“As ECOWAS continues to work towards its vision of a united, prosperous West Africa, its efforts in combating drug addiction will be critical in creating a brighter, healthier future for the region.”
ECOWAS Hands Over Drug Rehabilitation Centre to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital
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