The Nigerian military on Wednesday morning sealed off the Maiduguri office of Mercy Corps, a humanitarian organisation, following interception of the sum of N29 million in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State on Tuesday. It was learnt that staff of the organisation were chased away by a detachment of soldiers who took over the premises. This is coming barely a week after the military blacklisted Action Against Hunger for allegedly providing food and medical assistance to terrorists. A senior military officer told our correspondent that the clampdown may be extended to more NGOs in weeks to come as he alleged that some of the NGOs operating in the Northeast were working in support of the war by insurgents on the nation.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had in March intercepted N54 million at the Maiduguri International Airport allegedly belonging to Mercy Corps.
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The commission said four persons and two Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) were connected to the seized cash and were being investigated.
EFCC gave the names of the suspects as Abdullahi Yarima, Francis Bako, Saraya Umaru, and James K. Yadzugwa.
The NGOs are Mercy Corps and Development Exchange Centre.
The anti-graft agency said it acted on intelligence report to intercept the cash at the airport. According to EFCC, investigation into Mercy Corps’ accounts revealed that it has 15 bank accounts with different Bank Verification Numbers (BVN).
Also, a BVN search on Development Exchange Centre showed that it has 40 bank accounts with different BVNs.
A statement by the anti-graft agency noted that it was probing alleged “cases of criminal conspiracy, money laundering and terrorist financing initiated following an intelligence report to the commission on the 18th March, 2019 against Mercy Corps and four others”.
Edward Kallon, the humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, in a statement decried “the increasingly dangerous and restrictive operating environment for implementing humanitarian assistance in crisis-affected areas, where humanitarian aid workers continue to face challenges as they strive to deliver urgent, life-saving assistance”.
In the statement issued in New York on Wednesday, Kallon said, “The humanitarian community in Nigeria is working in line with the 2019-2021 Humanitarian Response Strategy, jointly agreed with the Government of Nigeria, to provide life-saving assistance to 6.2 million of the most vulnerable people in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States.”
LADI JOSSY, Maiduguri
