The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, and other anti-graft agencies have been asked to probe some
Non Governmental Organizations undermining the ongoing fight against terror in
Nigeria.
The Public Accountability
Network, a civil society organization, which made this call on Sunday, decried
the activities of some NGOs operating in Nigeria, which had contributed to the
rising cases of terrorism in the nation.
PAN said it was shocked to
discover that some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were in the business
of providing wholesale support to Boko Haram and Islamic State West African
Province (ISWAP) in order to remain in business.
Addressing newsmen on Sunday, the
group through its Executive Director, Mark Daniel Atawodi, called for ban of
any group found to have been collaborating with Boko Haram for their selfish
interest.
He also urged the relevant
authorities to go the extra length to put indicted organizations and their
managers on trial with a view to securing the stiffest punishment possible to
deter those that have the intention of supporting Boko Haram and ISWAP to
remain persistent threat to Nigerians.
His statement below:
The confirmation by the Nigerian
Army that Action Against Hunger, an NGO operating in the Northeast was “aiding
and abetting” terrorists in this regard did not come as a surprise to us.
Public Accountability
Network(PAN), with its sister NGOs had in the past raised concerns about the
surreptitious activities of unscrupulous group that hide behind their
international status or affiliation to commit crimes in Nigeria.
It is commendable that the
Nigerian Army has proactively banned Action Against Hunger following the
discovery of its support for terrorism.
We are however concerned that
banning this one NGO is not enough. Action Against Hunger is a mere tip of the
iceberg. It is just one of the many organizations that have engaged in
activities that are inimical to the interest of Nigeria.
With Action Against Hunger being
found out, its other accomplices have by now gone underground, since they will
by now be doing their utmost to conceal their illicit activities. The network
of these groups is extensive since they include local, continental and
international NGOs that gained access to the theatre of operations under the
pretext of carrying out humanitarian work.
It is therefore critical at this
stage that the Nigerian Army, working with sister security agencies, conduct an
audit of NGOs working in areas plagued by Boko Haram insurgency. The essence of
this audit is to ascertain the authenticity of the statement of claim that each
organization made to gain access to the region. Violation of the terms on which
they were accredited to the area would flag other mischief they have been up
to.
The Nigerian Army must similarly
leverage the special skills available in the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC), Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the ICPC to
trace the sources of finances of these NGOs. This is against the background
that many of them are being financed by foreign interests that are obsessed
with destroying Nigeria as a sovereign nation.
Even some local NGOs are
complicit of running errands financed from such questionable funds that allowed
them to operate as proxies and franchises for the larger saboteurs.
We consequently demand that the
Army, working with these anti-graft agencies, immediately investigate the
finances of all groups operating in the Northeast.
This investigation should cover
what entities paid monies to NGOs operating in the area and the expenditure
items of these organizations. In order words, Nigerian want to know who gave
them money, what the moneys are meant for, who received the moneys and what the
funds were spent on. In the event where payments are traceable to individuals,
comprehensive background checks should be carried out to rule out any links to
Boko Haram, ISWAP or any other terrorist group.
Our demand is based on the
realization that these NGOs have the incentive to undermine Nigeria, an
assignment they have assiduously carried out with all sense of impunity:
The criminal NGOs are supporting
Boko Haram and ISWAP as a way of ensuring that the terrorists survive the
military operation in order for them to validate their failed projections that
the terrorists will bring about the end of Nigeria. The discovery of this
treachery has however confirmed that Nigeria will overcome the evil they plotted
for the country.
These NGOs are pained that their
militant wings as represented by the terrorists have repeatedly taken beatings
from the military. By supplying food and medication to these terrorists Action
Against Hunger aims to reverse the progress made against the insurgent. This
leaves us wondering if it is only food and medication that this NGO gave the
terrorists since they could also have been behind the recent sophisticated
weapons that the terrorists have been taking into battle.
They are also disappointed that
the campaign of calumny mounted against the Nigerian state by its partners,
like Amnesty International have only made the country stronger while the
terrorists they are eager to allow to overrun the country are continually being
defeated.
But they should not have taken
their disappointment to the point where they further compromise the safety of
the innocent Nigerians that will become the victims of a well fed Boko Haram.
The quest for increased donor
funding, which would be possible when Boko Haram continues to remain a treat is
an attraction for these terrorist NGOs.
They want to provide food and
logistics that strengthen Boko Haram so that they will continue to have
justification for requesting more funds. This is the lowest form of immorality.
No one should prop up terrorists simply in order to raise more funds.
There has been concerns that the
subversive activities of these questionable NGOs are at the instance of certain
countries that have economic and geo-strategic objectives in Nigeria’s
northeast. They have become the vehicles for delivering whatever interventions
these countries have for undermining Nigeria.
Nigerians should not forget that
the Army had in the past caught out some associates of these NGOs using the
cover of their work in the region to gather intelligence that they then pass on
to the terrorists.
This particular objective of the
indicted NGOs is o dangerous that it has been identified as a key factor in the
instances when troops were ambushed. Genuine stakeholders had raised concerns
about this but they were dismissed as conspiracy theorists.
The lie of providing food and
care for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) when in reality they were
servicing Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists is also conveniently being used as
manipulated data that will be misinterpreted to create the impression that
things are more dire than the reality on ground suggests.
Action Against Hunger and its
fellow pseudo terrorist NGOs might have tainted the concept and practice of
humanitarian relief work as seen from the resulting public ire, we nonetheless
recognize that there are good organizations that are doing good work in in
providing succour to persons and families affected by the activities of
terrorists. We wholeheartedly welcome the objectives and the activities of
these good ones especially at a time that humanity is being threatened by
insurgents. We recommend such groups as the shining example that those scheming
to profit from the human misery caused by terrorism.
With the knowledge that we now
have of the subversive role being played by organizations like Action Against
Hunger, we call on the United Nations and its subsidiaries, supra-national
bodies and responsible donor partners to stop funding this organization and
others with links to it. These potential donors must, in the interest of
humanity, ensure that they implement stringent pre-qualification parameters for
funds recipients to ensure that the resources they have earmarked for helping
humanity are not diverted for terrorists’ use.
We want to conclude by asking
that ban of any group found to have been collaborating with Boko Haram is not
enough. The government should go the extra length to put indicted organizations
and their managers on trial with a view to securing the stiffest punishment
possible deter those that have the intention of supporting Boko Haram and ISWAP
to remain persistent threat to Nigerians.
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