- Coalition Denies Viral Allegations
By Oyinlola Awonuga Balogun (The New Diplomat’s Entertainment, Fashion and Sports Desk)
Nigerians have called out the Feminist Coalition (FemCo) group for allegedly withdrawing N23m worth of bitcoin donated for #EndSARS protest and transferring same to another account.
The feminist coalition who raised funds globally to push the #EndSARS agenda has been accused of not being transparent with its expenses during and after the protest which was triggered by police brutality in the country.
The recent transaction was said to have been carried out on March 5.
The funds were raised through humanitarian donations across the globe to pay for food/snacks at the protest grounds; transport campaigners to and from the protest grounds; logistics and also to pay lawyers.
The group however has responded and issued a statement to the allegations against them.
In response to the allegations, the coalition denied the claims of fund mismanagement in public circle. They also asked for eight weeks to provide an assessment sheet endorsed by external auditors.
According to them, the $51,000 (N23 million) transaction was done in November 2020 but was confirmed on March 5th, 2021.
However, it appears the explanation by Feminist Coalition did little to stop a flood tide of reactions from Nigerians including #EndSARS campaigners who are keen on accountability from members the group.
- Here’s Some Reactions:
https://twitter.com/oloye__/status/1370489574435258372?s=19
Read the Group’s statement below:
The Feminist Coalition has worked tirelessly since October 2020 to ensure every amount earmarked for disbursement reaches the people who really need it.
The Feminist Coalition stopped receiving donations towards the peaceful #EndSARS protest on October 22nd, 2020. Our public statement of October 22nd outlined the allocation of the remaining funds.
The balance of the funds were to be spent as outlined below:
#EndSARSresponse(medical) = N20,114,087.25
The Legal Aid Network = N15,741,459.59
Relief for victims of police brutality and families of the deceased = N40,228,174.51
Memorial for the fallen = N5,247,153.197
#EndSARSMentalHealthSupport = N6,121,678.73
Since October, we have continued our voluntary work with a great sense of duty and the diligence that managing public trust deserves. This work involved ensuring proper procedures were in place to manage donations and identify and verify numerous claims of the several victims of police brutality.This aligns with the values of transparency and accountability we have upheld in our public communications since our intervention. Listed below are Feminist Coalition’s fund allocation activities in line with our statement. Please note that all funds crowdsourced by the Feminist Coalition are separate from funds externally raised by other groups, including our beneficiaries, such as EndSARSResponse.-#EndSARSresponse (medical) and EndSARSMentalHealthSupport: Between October and November 2020, we donated N20,114,087.25 to medical and N6,121,678.73 to mental health support.Relief for victims of police brutality: From November 2020 to February 2021, the Feminist Coalition donated N40,000,000 to 80 families (N500,000 each) across Nigeria who have lost loved ones to police brutality or have been victims themselves. Within the fund for police brutality victims, we provided one fatally impacted family with additional funds for housing (rent), clothing, food, furniture, transportation and schoolbooks totalling N45,682,000. Several beneficiaries publicised their receipt of these funds on their volition, but the Feminist Coalition is committed to the victims’ privacy and would not dishonour their memory.
Memorial: On December 31st 2020, we released the ‘Memorial for the Fallen’ documentary, which cost N2,000,000. The documentary memorial was dedicated to preserving the memory of police brutality victims in Nigeria. The surplus of N3,247,153.97 from ”the memorial” was included in the initial victims of police brutality fund of N40,228,174.51
Legal Support (Outstanding): Currently, N13,534,787.30 is outstanding for the Legal Aid Network (EndSARS Legal Aid) who have been working tirelessly since October 2020 to provide legal services to unlawful arrest victims and police brutality. At present, the Legal Aid Network is finalising their organisational structure and have requested the funds be held until they are ready.
All other funds received by the Feminist Coalition for the purposes mentioned above have been disbursed. The report of the ongoing committee of the EndSARS funds raised by the Feminist Coalition will be publicly available within eight weeks, with independent external auditors’ endorsement.
The Feminist Coalition has continued to pursue its primary objectives to advance women-focused causes with its independent resources, outside of the concluded #EndSARS donations. On December 16th, 2020, we provided 1000 low-income women and their families with critically needed food supplies. Our most recent project, announced on March 8th, aims to make transportation safer for women in Nigeria.
Bitcoin transaction: A transaction initiated on November 16th, 2020 from the Feminist Coalition wallet address was confirmed on March 5th, 2021 at 15:07. The transaction showed a transfer of 0.90831937 BTC to another wallet. This transaction was part of a sale of 7.21958757 BTC for N57,590,000 with a third party. Feminist Co. received the proceeds of the sale between November 16th and December 1st, 2020. The delay in confirming the BTC transaction was due to the meagre Bitcoin network fees chosen. People with knowledge of cryptocurrency transactions understand that this is not uncommon. The Bitcoin network has been clogged for the last few months.
We chose to use the cheapest fess possible to ensure we spent the maximum possible donations towards our mission, rather than operating expenses/transaction fees
