Nigerian lawmakers probe aid for Boko Haram victims

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria

Lawmakers on Wednesday ordered an investigation into the use of $32.3 million earmarked for the victims of Boko Haram, the Senate said.

An eight-man committee was established to look into the “mounting humanitarian crisis in the northeast”, according to a statement, amid claims that aid cash intended for those displaced by the violence is being diverted.

“Notwithstanding the huge budgetary allocation by the National Assembly, at $32.3 million, and the various releases by the executive, including significant donations from many donors, the situation on ground is not cheering,” lawmaker Baba Kaka Garbai said.

He added that “incoherent and largely fragmented” procurement procedures suggested a “vague and corrupt scheme that is not in tune with helping our people in the northeast out of their present harrowing experience and misery.”

According to UNICEF, around 4.5 million are in need of assistance, including 1 million in danger of extreme malnutrition. About 2 million people are also said to out of reach of aid agencies and at risk of starvation.