Borno governor asks security services to investigate claims IDP rice is being re-bagged

BORNO State governor Kashim Shettima has asked security operatives to investigate claims that food contributed to feed internally displaced people (IDP) forced into camps by the Boko Haram crisis has been diverted to personal use.

 

Over recent days, there have been allegations that rice meant to go to the IDP camps is being re-bagged by people suspected to be officials of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency (Sema). It is believed that this rice is not being sold on the open market, with the said officials making enormous profits from the transactions.

 

Nigeria currently has the highest number of IDPs in the world, with about 2.6m people forced to leave their homes as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency. Perturbed by the news of the allegations, Governor Shettima has directed the Borno State Command of the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Security (DSS) to investigate and arrest anyone found culpable.

 

Recently a video clip and pictures emerged on social media, showing some bags of rice said to have been supplied by the National Emergency Management Agency, being re-bagged. While noting that he would await the outcome of the investigation and arrests by the police and DSS, Governor Shettima noted that he was aware that a group of Abuja-based politicians, who hail from Borno, had sworn to bring down his administration using all kinds of mischief.

 

He cited an incident when hundreds of posters were produced and pasted along strategic points in Abuja and Kaduna claiming that he was aspiring for president in 2019, with the governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha as his running mate, as one of such examples. According to the governor, such politicians may be the ones behind these latest pictures and video.

 

Governor Shettima said: “When Borno wasn’t safe, they retired to Abuja and completely stayed away and left us but now that peace is emerging, they have lost relevance in their party the Peoples Democratic Party and they have started their brand of politics. They know that they can’t take us on in terms of performance and their party is crumbling so they have set up an office in Abuja with another one in Maiduguri with some youths hired to foment mischief.

 

"They don’t care if the whole of Borno goes into flames as long as they bring Shettima down. They are coming up with all kinds of mischief including trying to set me up against the presidency and they don’t care if doing that obstructs our success against Boko Haram.”