Following Senate Probe, Buhari Orders Arrest of Officials Diverting IDP’s Food

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday, directed that the police should arrest and make an example of government officials accused of stealing food aid intended for Internally Displaced People in the North East.

Many will recall that last week, following reports of hundreds of female IDPs staging a peaceful protest in Borno to draw attention to the severe hunger and nutrition in the camps, the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, called on the Nigeria Police Force, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and other law enforcement agencies to quickly investigate the diversion of food aid deliveries, stating that the Senate would investigate the severe hunger and nutrition crisis in the Internally Displaced Persons camps in the North-East.

Buhari’s spokesman, Garba Shehu, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Thursday that “The president has asked the Inspector General of the police to catch some of these alleged thieves, to look out for them and make public examples of them.”

Earlier today, the Senate President stated that accountability will be the key to ensure the development of the North East, emphasising that oversight must be a necessary component in the nation’s efforts to rehabilitate the insurgency-ravaged North East zone.

Saraki further stated that when the eighth Senate resumes sitting later in the month, the humanitarian crisis in the North East will be a high priority, mentioning that a motion would also be introduced to create a Senate Ad-Hoc Committee to conduct a Public Hearing on the humanitarian response in the North East.

The aim of the public hearing would be to review the recommendations of domestic and international partners operating in the geopolitical subregion in order to develop a sustainable framework for Nigeria’s emergency and humanitarian crisis management for the North East and future complex emergencies.

Recall that as part of the activities marking the 2016 World Humanitarian Day in August, Saraki sent a technical team to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, to conduct interviews with both domestic and international stakeholders working in the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. The team interacted with officials and volunteers of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), and international aid organisations operating in the region.

The purpose of the visit was to collect information about the emergency relief, recovery and rehabilitation efforts in Borno State.

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