By Ken Afor
Femi Falana, a prominent human rights lawyer, has weighed into the N585.2 million fraud allegation by Betta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, calling on her to resign and apologise to Nigerians following her criminal breech of trust.
It would be recalled that on Friday, the minister faced intense scrutiny following the emergence of a memo in which she instructed the Accountant-General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, to transfer a substantial sum of N585 million to a private account belonging to Oniyelu Bridget.
The ministry stated that Bridget currently holds the position of Project Accountant for Grants for Vulnerable Groups.
The payment instructions was contained in a confidential memo that was leaked on December 20, 2023.
However, details revealed that the N585.18 million grant which was approved by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation was meant to be disbursed to vulnerable groups in four states. The ministry emphasized that the entire process followed the necessary government protocols.
In response to the viral allegations surrounding this matter, the minister addressed the issue, dismissing it as a baseless fabrication orchestrated by her opponents. She believes that these detractors aim to hinder her anti-corruption endeavors and impede her mission to uplift those in need.
But, in a statement released on Sunday, Falana emphasized that the Minister has not refuted her approval of the “payment of the over half a billion Naira to a private account in contravention of, the extant Public Service Rules as well as the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Offences Act and the Penal Code applicable in the Federal Capital Territory,” she refused to, “apologise to the Federal Government and people of Nigeria and calling it quits for betraying the confidence reposed in her, the Minister has arrogantly said that the N585.18 million fraud allegation is a mere fabrication by her detractors and an alleged attempt by mischief makers to undermine her ministry’s effort in fighting corruption and uplifting the needy.”
Furthermore, Falana emphasized that despite the efforts of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, to prevent the unlawful misappropriation of the aforementioned amount of N585.18 million from the national treasury, it is evident from the leaked memorandum of the Minister that the act of attempting to commit a serious crime has already been accomplished.
“There can be no legal justification for the criminal diversion of the said sum of N585.18 million for disbursement to vulnerable people in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Lagos and Ogun States since the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs has collated the individual bank accounts of all the vulnerable people.
“Having regard to the facts and circumstances of this extremely embarrassing drama, we commend the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for the recovery of the sum of N37 billion meant for vulnerable people in Nigeria.
“We also call on the Commission to speed up the ongoing investigation of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs with a view to charging all indicted persons before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory as soon as possible,” Falana said.
