By Muhammad M. ALI

THIS investigative report sheds light on irregularities and corrupt practices in the implementation of the multi-million-naira solar streetlight projects aimed at enhancing security in the local communities of Bayo, Kwaya Kusar, and Shani in Borno State. It unravels the names of influential politicians who ignored the discrepancies in the contracts to the detriment of their constituents.

In Jaragol Village in Bayo Local Government Area of Borno State, Ibrahim Adamu stood watching his neighbours start their day at about 11 a.m. The cattle farmer had a mask of confusion on his face as he had suffered a major loss just days before Eid al-Adha, when his ram was stolen by thieves. For Ibrahim, who supports his wife and four children with the profits from his small business, the loss was devastating.

Adamu thinks the theft would not have occurred if their community had received the solar streetlight project designed to improve security. He stated that the solar streetlights in neighbouring communities discourage thieves, who cannot use the cover of darkness to operate.

This challenge, according to him, is not peculiar to Jaragol alone, as many other communities in Biu, Bayo, Kwaya Kusar and Shani Federal Constituencies face similar security issues due to inadequate illumination infrastructure.

In 2020, Aliyu Mukhtar Betara, a House of Representative member representing Biu/Bayo/Kwaya Kusar and Shani Federal Constituency, facilitated a project to install 1,052 solar streetlights in some communities, including Gamadadi, Jaragol, Jaradali, Telli (wards in Bayo LGA), Wandali, Wawa, Gussi, Bula, Wada (wards in Kwaya Kusar LGA), Bargu, Gora and Walama (wards in Shani).

The project, worth over N762 million (N762, 301, 082.14) was awarded to contractors in 2020 and 2021, and money released, as captured in the Open Treasury Portal, but investigations reveal several irregularities in its execution.

The investigation also revealed that some influential politicians were bribed with a few streetlights by the contractors to ensure their silence. The contract agreements with the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development outlined that the scope of work involved the installation of several components, including 300W Polycrystalline Solar Panels, 115AH, 12V Lithium Battery, 12V, 60W high Bright LED Lamp, 12V/24V, 20/20A Charge Controller Phocos Germany, and 8.0M Galvanised poles.

Dunkulu Global Venture installs 230 streetlights instead of 277

In Bayo LGA, a report from the Open Treasury Portal revealed that Dunkulu Global Venture received a payment of over N198 million (N198,691,614.35) to supply and install 277 solar streetlights in several wards, including Telli, Gamadadi, Jaradali, and Jaragol. However, upon inspection, it was discovered that only 230 streetlights were installed, and the remaining 47 could not be accounted for. The breakdown of the installation is: 10 in Gamadadi, 100 in Telli, 50 in Jaragol, and 70 in Jaradali, which is less than the contracted number of 277.

The representative of the Gamadadi District Head, and a former councillor of the ward , Aliyu Jauro Abubakar, expressed disappointment with the implementation of the contract, stating that the community was not consulted before the project was carried out. He went on to say that although they noticed some installations, they discovered that only ten solar streetlights were installed in Gamadadi central, which was insufficient to meet the needs of the community.

On his part, a former councillor of Telli, Jibrin Hassan Telli, said out of the 100 Solar Streetlights brought to the communities in the Biu/Bayo/Kwaya Kusar and Shani Federal Constituencies, seven were found to be faulty.  He added that despite repeated calls to the contractor, no repairs were made.

Meanwhile, the district head of Jaradali, Lawan Saidu Maina Hamma, and a few leaders of some of the communities, acknowledged that they, like Jaradali, received only 70 streetlights, which was insufficient to cover all areas in need. The leaders acknowledged the intervention but expressed a need for further improvement in security infrastructure.

Usman Junga who representative the district head of Jaragol said fifty solar streetlights were installed within Jaragol and its surrounding areas.

Dunkulu Global Venture violated the Public Procurement Act 2007 by failing to install all 277 solar streetlights as agreed upon in the contract.  But when contacted, Bashir Musa, the contact person for the company, was unavailable and this reporter later found out that he was deceased.

A woman who identified herself as his wife picked up the call and broke the news of Bashir’s demise.

She said, “Yes, the phone belongs to Bashir, but he died about two months ago. I am his wife,” the woman said.

Further investigations revealed that the company is owned by Kabiru Kamba Mohammad.

Dunkulu Global Venture paid despite incomplete project file

The project file of Dunkulu Global Venture at the federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development lacked evidence of how the project was executed and did not meet the required documentation standards for payment processing. This reporter saw the project file. The contract agreement as contained in the project said the contractor can only be paid if he submitted duly signed initial photograph of an empty site and duly signed progress photograph showing implementation. Unfortunately, upon inspection the project file of Dunkulu Global Venture was not having such requirements. Yet, he was paid. Additionally, the company failed to account for the 47 uninstalled solar streetlights and other discrepancies.

Facile Concept Service, another company owned by Kabiru Kamba accused of improper project execution

It is also unclear whether another project involving 221 solar streetlights, awarded to Facile Concept Service Limited for the same Bayo local government, were completely executed.

A check on the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) website indicates that Facile Concept Service Limited was registered on October 24, 2018, and it is currently active. The company is owned by  Kabiru Kamba Mohammed, the same person who owns Dunkulu Global Venture.

NGCheck an open source company registry lists the directors of the company as Kabiru Kamba Mohammed, and Hadiza Kamba Kabiru.

The contractor was paid N158,879,575.09 (One hundred and fifty-eight million, eight hundred and seventy-nine thousand, five hundred and seventy-five naira and nine kobo), according to the 2022 records on the Open Treasury Portal.

The former councillor of Briyel, Sulaiman Suzi, who currently serves as one of the aides of a law maker Aliyu Betara claimed to have supervised the installation on behalf of his boss.

Suzi also claimed that the contractor had fulfilled his part by bringing all 221 solar streetlights to Bayo and that they were installed within Briyel and other wards.

However, it remains unclear how these streetlights were distributed and installed. According to residents, some of these streetlights never worked.

“There are many of them that are not working. In fact, I have never seen them working,” Buhari Dauda, a resident of Briyel, said.

Streetlights diverted to lawmaker, politicians residence

It appears from this reporter’s findings, that the solar streetlights provided by Dunkulu Global Venture and Facile Concept Service Limited, were not distributed fairly among the communities in need. Instead, politicians and traditional rulers allegedly took bribes and installed the solar streetlights in their private homes, leaving some areas without adequate lighting.

The investigation was prompted by complaints from targeted beneficiaries who felt that the solar streetlights were not reaching their streets as intended. Some of the solar streetlights were also reportedly installed incorrectly in certain areas. The project file for the intervention was not available at the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, and the contractor’s mobile number was unreachable.

This reporter obtained information that apart from the District Head of Jaragol and other traditional rulers, Maigari Abare, a state House of Assembly member representing Bayo Constituency, was implicated in the bribery scandal. He was accused of accepting a solar streetlight as bribe, which was installed at his private home in Briyel, headquarters of Bayo. Sources also revealed that Suzi was also allegedly bribed with a streetlight.

However, when contacted, Abare denied requesting for the solar streetlight and claimed that it was brought to his house without his knowledge or consent. He said “Sulaiman Suzi brought it to my home. Please, you can go and remove it. I can buy ten of them. If not that Suzi insisted that I should install it, I wouldn’t have done that.”

On his part Suzi said,”It was the contractor who saw my effort and installed one in my house.”

Investigating further, this reporter also traced some of the streetlights to the residence of a former chairman of the APC in Bayo, Ibrahim Garba Palala. He had one of the solar streetlights installed close to his gate and another one installed behind his fence.

When contacted, Garba did not deny the allegations, but he claimed that “It was the contractor that gave me six solar streetlights. When he came to Bayo, he kept his properties inside my filling station.”

RKK Inspire Service Limited did not execute streetlight project in Shani, other beneficiary communities

In Shani, 277 solar streetlights were installed on paper. Interestingly, records of the Open Treasury Portal shows that RKK Inspire Service Limited was paid over N202 million (N202,364,946.35) on February 8, 2022, to supply and install 277 solar streetlights in Gora, Bargu, and Walama wards of Shani.

However, when this reporter visited communities marked for the project on July 1, 2024, there was nothing on ground to show that the contractor even mobilised to site, as the only streetlights that were sighted were installed by the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN).

This was further confirmed by aggrieved members of the community who alleged marginalisation and being cut off from the ‘national cake’.

“These ones with the inscription ECN were brought last year, and they are still functional. But we only have six of them in the whole of this area. One was installed before the mosque, one in a Sangaya school, two along the way to the graveyard, and one in each of the two mosques we have here” Sani Ibrahim, a resident of Anguwan Sugasuga, an area of about 200 houses in Bargu noted.

Also, Alhassan Audu, a farmer and resident of the Lamado area of Gora, said, “All the solar streetlights in Gora have the inscription of the ECN, not RKK Inspire Service Limited. Except for a few that have been in Gora for over ten years; the old model that has a physical battery tied to the pole, and now none of them is even working. Also, you should not be deceived by the few decorating our major roads; there are not enough inside the community. We still need them to cover the community.”

RKK Inspire Service Limited denies project 

When contacted about the findings, Yinka Oluyemi Olusegun, the contractor, denied his company’s involvement in the project execution. He stated, “Yes, we own RKK Inspire Service Ltd, but I am unaware of any projects that were awarded to our company in Gora and Bargu.”

Olusegun challenged this reporter to provide available government documents indicating that his company had received the contract.

When this reporter forwarded a downloadable document from the Open Treasury Portal via WhatsApp to the contractor and followed up a few days later with a call. At this time, Olusegun stated that he remembered the project but still could not provide details of its implementation.

He connected this reporter with Abdulrauf Babagana, whom he claimed was the company’s contact person during the project, to provide more information about its implementation.

The 277 solar streetlights were intended to be installed in Gora, Walama, and Bargu, all independent areas located away from the headquarters of Shani Local Government.

Project diverted to another location – RKK Inspire Service Limited 

However, Babagana confirmed that the project had been diverted to the headquarters of the local government. Both Babagana and the project file claimed that the project was implemented within the headquarters of the local government, not the actual locations.

The project file listed the locations of the project implementation in the headquarters of the local government as follows: “Installation of 277 solar streetlights in Shani Local Government: UBA Lamot to Lamot Settlement 32, Lamot settlement to ward of life church 55, Auditor general street 20, Word of life to Ali Sarkin Kida house 22, Nguru Lawan Gasi Street 25, Late Zubairu Maina Street 19, Emir Palace to Nasarawa 64, Langama street 20, DSS street 20.”

This not only confirmed the diversion of the project but also violated the Public Procurement Law 2007.

Acute Options Limited installs only 130 out of 277 streetlights 

In Kwaya Kusar Communities, records from the Open Treasury Portal also captured that Acute Options Limited was paid N202,364,946.35k on February 8, 2022, to install 277 solar streetlights in Wandali, Wawa, and Wada Gussi Bula, wards of Kwaya Kusar.

However, from our checks, only community leaders in Wandali and Wawa acknowledged receiving the intervention.

Fielding questions from this reporter on the issues of diversions raised,  Bako Malisa Wandali, a former councillor of Wandali, said, “Yes, I am aware that the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing (now Ministry of Housing and Urban Development) installed 40 pieces of solar streetlights in key areas of Wandali.

The traditional head of Wawa ward, Lawan Mustapha, confidently stated, “Here in Wawa and neighbouring villages, the ministry installed over 90 solar streetlights, just short of 100.

Upon further investigation, it was found that Acute Options Limited installed only 130 solar streetlights (40 in Wandali and 90 in Wawa) out of the total 277. Regrettably, the remaining 147 streetlights, meant for installation in Gussi-Bula ward, were not carried out as planned.

Members and leaders of Gussi-Bula Ward confirmed that the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing (now Ministry of Housing and Urban Development) only installed ten solar streetlights long ago in 2001.

Lawan Musa Mohammed, the district head of Gussi, asserted, “I can show you some of them. We were informed that it was facilitated by one of our sons who worked with the ministry and is now retired. In 2022, the ministry did not supply any solar streetlights in Gussi. Even if they did, it was not to my knowledge.”

Former councillor of Gussi, Inusa Yakubu, who underscored the non-execution of the contract by Acute Options Limited in Gussi emphasised that, “In 2022, those associated with the Multichoice Global Venture were also brought in.

He said, “Those you saw with the barge of Multichoice Global Venture were also brought in 2022. They brought 70 of them.”

Nevertheless, when contacted, Kiloso Rasheed, owner of Acute Options Ltd, asserted that he had, indeed, execute the project in Gussi.

“What are you investigating? My solar may be there. Go to the community; you will see a black solar streetlight. I was the only one whose solar had the black head”, Rasheed said over the phone, but he refused to respond to whether he had placed his company badge on the poles of the solar streetlights as other contractors did to affirm project execution.

Acute Options Limited paid despite incomplete project file

Upon inspection of project files at the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, there was no clear evidence of project execution, except for certificates of project completion and handover endorsed by the ministry. There are no initially endorsed photographs to demonstrate the empty site, and no progress photographs were duly endorsed to show execution, as required by the contract agreement.

This constitutes a clear violation of Sections 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 57 of the Public Procurement Act 2007. These sections mandate procuring entities (MDAs) to plan, organise, and supervise project implementation, and charge all parties in the procurement process to act fairly, accountably, and transparently.

Streetlight projects facilitaing lawmaker, Batera reacts

Despite being the facilitator of the projects aimed at benefiting his constituents,  Betara, the member House of Representative representing Biu/Bayo/Kwaya Kusar/ Shani Federal Constituency, was not also clear about the project’s implementation. When this reporter outlined the discrepancies in the project’s implementation, the lawmaker refused to take responsibility for the projects he sponsored but simply asked the reporter to investigate the contractors involved.

Through a WhatsApp call, he said: “Trace the organisation (company) that was given the contract and follow up with them. Ask them why they didn’t implement it. If they did not implement it, you can check the agency. From my own side, all my projects were executed. Apart from government projects, I also bought and installed over six thousand (6,000) solar (streetlights) with my own money. I am not like other members; I do not do contracts. In fact, I do not know many contractors who carried out projects in my constituency. If you want more information, you can go to my constituency office in Biu.”

Solar streetlight projects now conduit for siphoning public funds – CSOs

In his reaction, the founder of Spotlight for Accountability and Transparency, Muazu Modu, said unless critical issues are addressed, the solar streetlight project will no longer serve its purpose in communities.

“Installation of solar streetlight project is now a means of diverting public funds,” he contended.

He explained that most of the time, this is done by conspiring with supervising MDAs to confuse the locations of the project.

“There is an International Public Sector Accounting Standard code that every community is supposed to have.

“In Nigeria, this code stopped at the local government level. A project will merely be sited in a local government, without specifying the exact location within the local government. This lack of specificity makes it incredibly challenging to track the project. Unless we have designated codes for every community and unit, our budget implementation will undeniably continue to suffer,” stressed Modu, firmly urging the government to thoroughly investigate the diversion of the projects.”

Supervising agency unable to account for missing streetlights, other discrepancies

After a thorough review of the project file, this reporter immediately requested an interview with the Borno State Controller of the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.

In response, Amos Emil, the acting Controller of the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development in Borno State, said that he had recently assumed office. He recommended obtaining further information about the projects from Abubakar Sadiq Garba, who previously held the position before retiring and supervised all these projects.

Emil said, “If you need more information on these projects, you should consult our Engr. Abubakar Sadiq Garba who occupied this office but has retired. He supervised all these projects. I do not know anything more than what is in the project files.”

According to project records, Abubakar Sadiq Garba, also known as A.S. Garba, was the individual responsible for signing the handing-over certificates on behalf of the ministry. The contractor’s office emphatically suggested contacting Abubakar Sadiq Garba for information, as he effectively oversaw the execution of all the contracts.

When contacted, Garba did not deny supervising the said projects.

“We supervised the implementation of the projects. However, there were issues. There were cases where politicians changed the location of projects. Since 2023, the ministry has taken a stand against these irregularities,”  Garba stated.

He, However, disputed the findings that not all solar streetlights were supplied and installed in Shani communities.

“For Bargu, Gora, and Walama, the projects were also carried out, but the locations were changed because at that time, the ministry allowed politicians who facilitated the projects to change the project locations. This resulted in many project locations being changed,” Garba explained.

During the project execution in Gussi, a community of Kwaya Kusar, Garba emphasised that the solar equipment was supplied but not installed.

He stated that the equipment was kept at the residence of the Gussi district head due to a mistake with materials supplied by the contractor and insecurity in the area, which prevented the installation.

Garba vehemently denied the allegation that the ministry allowed contractors and politicians to divert the intervention to private homes. He also noted that there were attempts by some individuals to have solar streetlights installed inside their private homes but claimed that the ministry refused such requests.

“At that time, I can remember we struggled with many people who wanted us to install solar streetlights inside their private homes, but we refused,” he added.

Garba’s statements seemed like a fairytale, as proper procedures were not followed in the award and execution of contracts. According to Sections 18 to 24 of the Public Procurement Act 2007, which outline public procurement organisation, methods, and implementation, open competitive bidding should be the primary method of public procurement.

The Act mandates that a Procurement Planning Committee should be set up by the procuring entity to conduct a needs assessment and evaluation. Following this, bids should be advertised in two national daily newspapers, and then evaluated. The winning bid should be the lowest evaluated responsive bid that meets the work specifications and standards.

However, when inspecting the project files, no evidence was found to indicate that these procedures were followed. There was no documentation of advertised bids or records of bidders.

The contract agreements for all the projects were left with multiple blank spaces where the contractor was supposed to sign. Despite this, the handing over certificate and the certificate of completion were endorsed by the ministry.

This happened even though the contract award letter, such as the one for Dunkulu Global Venture, clearly stated that the “practical completion certificate shall be processed further only if accompanied by all the duly certified site photographs.”

According to Section 58 of the Public Procurement Act 2007, any individual or entity found to have violated the provisions of the Act through fraudulent activity can face severe penalties, including imprisonment for not less than five years, without the option of a fine.

*This investigation is supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the International Centre for Investigative Reporting under the Open Contract Reporting Project (OCRP).