By Bode Olagoke
Abuja
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has petitioned Ibrahim Magu, the Chairman Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), requesting him to “urgently begin a thorough, transparent and effective investigation into allegation that N500 million Safe School funds for Chibok girls, commissioned by former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to rebuild the Government Girls School in Chibok, is missing and cannot be accounted for.”
The organisation urged the EFCC to “invite for questioning and name and shame anyone suspected to be involved in the alleged diversion, including the contractors allegedly handling the project.”
In the petition dated December 27, 2016 and signed by SERAP senior staff attorney Timothy Adewale, the organisation said: “The allegation that N500m has been lost to corruption has resulted in denying the girls access to education, and shows the failure of the former President Goodluck Jonathan government to live up to Nigeria’s commitments under the global Safe School Declaration.”
The petition reads in part: “SERAP believes that the diversion of the funds will expose the school to attacks in the future. This is a fundamental breach of the country’s obligations including guarantees of non-repetition, which contribute to prevention and deterrence of future attacks.”
“SERAP urges the EFCC to work with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to set up a mechanism to monitor government’s spending of the safe school funds in order to ensure that the funds are spent exactly to prevent and deter future attacks, and to allow the girls to go back to school as soon as possible.”
“SERAP is seriously concerned that the school has remained in a state of disrepair since the abduction of the girls, and students have remained at home.”
