The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has called on President Bola Tinubu to promptly investigate the spending of billions of naira from the Ecological Fund collected by Borno State since 2001, including the N816 million collected by the state between January 2024 and June 2024.
In a statement on Sunday signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation maintained that suspected perpetrators of corruption and mismanagement of ecological funds should face prosecution if sufficient admissible evidence is found and that any proceeds of corruption should be fully recovered.
SERAP also urged Tinubu to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to urgently identify and ensure access to justice and effective remedies for affected victims in Borno State.
“Your government has a legal obligation to address the prevalence of flooding across the country and its effects on people, and to ensure that the money meant to mitigate flooding is not lost to corruption,” the statement read.
SERAP further urged Tinubu to instruct the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. George Akume, to collaborate with appropriate anti-corruption agencies to track and monitor the spending of the Ecological Fund by the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, all 36 state governors, the 774 local government areas, as well as all emergency management agencies across the country funded through the Ecological Fund.
SERAP stated, “There is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice for the victims of Borno’s floods and accountability for the spending of the monthly ecological funds collected by the state through the Federal Account Allocation Committee.”
The statement continued: “Although ecological funds are shared across the three tiers of government and emergency management agencies, the funds are managed and supervised by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.”
“The devastation in Borno highlights your government’s obligation to promote and ensure transparency and accountability in the spending of ecological funds by all tiers of government and emergency management agencies.”
“SERAP notes that Borno State receives millions of naira monthly through the Federal Allocation Committee as its share of the Ecological Fund.”
SERAP added that other states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, also receive monthly funds from the Ecological Fund, noting that trillions of naira have been budgeted over the years through the Ecological Fund to tackle floods and other ecological problems.
“SERAP is concerned that the ecological funds collected by Borno State over the years may have been diverted, mismanaged, or left unaccounted for.”
“SERAP is also troubled by reports that funds released to the states for ecological projects are characterised by mismanagement, diversion of funds, and substandard or abandoned projects for which full payment has already been made.”
“Allegations have also emerged that ecological funds have been spent on purposes such as election campaigns and political patronage.”
“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we do not hear from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal action to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.”
Similarly, SERAP noted that the current administration has legal obligations to ensure the protection of the rights of flood victims in Borno and elsewhere in the country, including the obligation to ensure they receive adequate food, shelter, safe drinking water, access to sanitation, and other basic aid.
“Your government must use all means available to prevent and address the threats to human rights that result from climate change and to provide access to remedies when these rights are violated.”
“Reports indicate that the recent floods in Borno began when a dam (the Alau Dam in Maiduguri) burst its walls following heavy rainfall. More than 30 people have reportedly been killed by the floods.”
“Approximately one million people have been affected, most of whom are housed in camps without food and clean water. According to the National Emergency Management Agency, 229 people have died from floods in Nigeria since the start of the year. The worst flooding in recent times claimed 600 lives in 2022.”
“A four-year audit of the Ecological Fund Office carried out by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative revealed that the total amount allocated and received by the fund from December 2011 to November 2016 was N277 billion.”
The statement further noted that the operations of the Fund from 2012 to 2016 reportedly showed that some of the disbursements were not utilised for their intended purpose. During this period,
N74,170,932,645.20 was released to state governments to address ecological problems in their areas.
“SERAP notes that the Ecological Fund was established in 1981 to respond to and address serious ecological problems such as soil erosion, flooding, drought, desertification, oil spills, general environmental pollution, and related issues, as well as to prevent suffering and possible death from these natural disasters.”
“As the floods in Borno State have shown, the lack of transparency and accountability in the management of ecological funds by states and the resulting human costs directly threaten fundamental human rights—rights to life, to food, to a place to live and work—rights that your government has an obligation to protect.”
“The Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (as amended) and the human rights and anti-corruption treaties to which the country is a party impose obligations on your government to probe and prosecute allegations of corruption in the spending of the Ecological Fund, and to ensure access to justice and effective remedies for victims of flooding.”
“Corruption and mismanagement of the fund have caused negative impacts on human health and rendered already impoverished citizens incapable of meeting their minimum needs for survival.”
SERAP pointed out that the failure of successive governments and high-ranking officials to prevent corruption in the spending of the Ecological Fund has significantly contributed to the inability of authorities at all levels to address ecological challenges and the impact of flooding across the country.
“We note that while a governor may enjoy immunity from arrest and prosecution, he does not enjoy immunity from investigation. Any criminal allegations against a sitting governor can and should be investigated pending the time the governor leaves office and loses immunity.”
“The findings of such an investigation can also form the basis for initiating impeachment proceedings against the governor.”
