A professional-democracy, anti-corruption and justice sector civil society organisation, International Integrity Campaign Community (GICN), has written a petition to the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC) to arrest, interrogate and prosecute the Particular Adviser to Benue Governor Hyacinth Alia on Bureau for Native Authorities and Chieftaincy Affairs, Dennis Akura, and others for alleged diversion of native authorities funds.
The petition, which was written on February 20, 2024, was obtained and acknowledged Tuesday on the headquarters of the the anti-graft company in Abuja.
Within the petition additionally despatched to President Bola Tinubu, the Director-Normal, Division of State Providers (DSS) and the media, GICN, a bunch made up of legal professionals, non-public investigators, human rights activists, media professionals and coverage analysts, accused Akura and others of supervising alleged brazen embezzlement and diversion of over N20 billion being a part of mixture Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) funds which accrued to the 23 native authorities councils in Benue State between June to November 2023.
It stated the LG Bureau beneath Governor Alia has been utilizing a few of its employees and privately owned firms to syphon the funds meant for native governments within the state.
GICN additional said that it had been inundated with complaints and paperwork from whistleblowers exhibiting that the workplace of the Particular Adviser to Governor Alia on Bureau for Native Authorities and Chieftaincy Affairs has allegedly change into a conduit pipe for top degree corrupt practices, large fraud and different sundry offences which prompted its petition to the anti-graft fee.
“From the information connected as APPENDIX 2A and 2B, the combination FAAC allocation obtained within the State Joint Native Authorities Account (SJLGA), maintained pursuant to Part 162(6) of the 1999 Structure of Nigeria (as amended) for onward disbursement to the 23 Native Authorities Councils inside the interval beneath overview totals N55,897,592,592.81 solely.
“Out of the above sum, solely N35,849,988,725.37 was disbursed to the 23 Native Authorities Councils. This left a steadiness of N20,051,603,867.44, which stays undisbursed, though the SJLGA is meant to be a transit account and never a financial savings account. It occurred that Dr. Dennis Akura beneath the strict directives of Governor Alia, allegedly diverted the aforesaid N35,849,988,725.37 utilizing employees of the Bureau in addition to some firms they’ve registered primarily for that function…” the group said.
The group urged EFCC to make sure that Akura and the others fingered within the petition are delivered to justice.
“The EFCC mustn’t permit any of the individuals talked about on this petition to profit from their very own wrongdoing, if fiscal accountability and transparency have to be restored in Benue State. We have now absolute perception that the management of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR has zero tolerance for any type of corruption able to inflicting hardship on the plenty and sabotaging the financial system of Nigeria as a complete,” it pressured.
Within the 17-paragraph petition, the group additionally connected documentary evidences of how funds had been transferred from varied native authorities council accounts to the account of particular person employees of the Bureau and firms, which the legal professionals investigated and annexed the complete particulars of householders of every firm, with paperwork from the Company Affairs Fee (CAC).
GICN urged the anti-corruption fee to make sure that if discovered culpable, the Benue State officers are made to refund the loot, to function deterrent to others.
“We hereby pray, pursuant to our statutory obligations to reveal corrupt practices beneath Part 24(d) and (e) of the 1999 Structure (supra) and the Whistle Blowing Coverage of the Federal Authorities of Nigeria, 2016, that you simply urgently ARREST, INTERROGATE and PROSECUTE the Particular Adviser to Governor Hyacinth Iornem Alia on Bureau for Native Authorities and Chieftaincy Affairs, Dr. Dennis Akura, along with all his cronies for the intense offences they’ve (allegedly) dedicated,” the petition learn partially.
