KEBBI State Government has constituted a committee to recover the N2.1 billion World Muslim League grant allegedly stolen from accounts of orphans in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the League disbursed N2.1 billion through bank transfers to 1,849 orphans in the state to support their upbringing.
During a press briefing in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital, the commissioner for religious affairs, Muhammad Sani-Aliyu, revealed that some guardians entrusted with managing the funds were involved in the fraudulent withdrawals.
Addressing journalists, Sani-Aliyu said the state Governor Nasir Idris ordered the immediate recovery of the stolen fund to ensure it is returned to the orphans.
He said, “We contacted the banks that disbursed the funds but they informed us that the fraudulent acts were perpetrated using point of sale (POS) terminals, not the conventional banking channels.
“Any bank discovered to be involved in the removal of the orphans’ money, the government will formally write a letter of complaint to the headquarters of such bank for appropriate action,” he said.
He added that the government would not fold its arms to allow some guardians of the orphans to cheat them.
“Kebbi Government is immensely appreciative to the World Muslim League for its magnanimity and for disbursing such a colossal amount of money to orphans in the state.
“Nigeria’s regional office of the League in Kaduna has been notified about what is happening in Kebbi, and the office has pledged full cooperation on the funds’ recovery efforts.
In July, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) said it received a petition o missing 13,350 diapers meant for antenatal care at a primary health centre in the Sambawa community in the state.
Two staff members of the facility, a male and a female, were indicted for the missing items.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.