The Nigerian army has shut down the offices of
Mercy Corps, an international non-governmental organisation that operates in
Borno and Yobe.
This is coming five days after the army shut down
the office of Action Against Hunger (AAH) in Damaturu, Yobe state capital, over
allegations of providing aid to Boko Haram.
“Mercy Corps is suspending operations in Borno
and Yobe States, Nigeria, following the closure of four of our field offices by
the Nigerian military,” the NGO said in a statement.
A source who also confirmed the incident said the army has not given any reason for its action but that the
closure may be connected to the “belief that some NGOs sponsor the insurgents”.
According to the source, the problem started when
the army intercepted a vehicle conveying some contractors who were on their way
to purchase items for internally-displaced persons (IDPs) on behalf of Mercy Corps.
“One of their workers (Mercy Corps) called me
this morning that the army has shut down their offices,” he said.
“Based on my findings, there are some contractors
who supply Mercy Corps with items that they distribute to IDPs. So they paid
them to provide supplies for IDPs in Damboa, and they went to Adamawa state to
cash the money sent.
“On their way, along Damboa, the army intercepted
their bus. They asked them what they had in the vehicle …they saw a cylinder in
the vehicle, the one used by welders…. So they asked them why they had the
cylinder and they replied that it belongs to a man in Damboa.
“The military then searched the vehicle and as
they were searching it, they saw the cash, which was about N29million and they
asked the contractors how they had such an amount of money. They replied that
they are contractors, and that normally every month when they pay them; they
cash the money, put it in cartons and go to market to get the supplies for
Mercy Corps to give to IDPs.
“But the army did not agree to what they had
said. They said, ‘such an amount of money being conveyed without escorts?’ That
they don’t believe them.
“They also had sticks belonging to the battalion
in Damboa, and the driver of the vehicle also had ATM cards of some soldiers with
him. Some of the soldiers don’t travel. So they give their ATM cards to drivers
to withdraw cash for them. He showed these to the army so that they would
believe them.
“But the
impression the army now has is that anybody working with an NGO is a sponsor of
Boko Haram, which is not so.”
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com