A multi- billion naira scam is about to be uncovered in the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, for former militants in Nigeria’s crude oil producing region, the Niger Delta.
The government is likely to discover that billions of naira may have been paid wrongly to some militants who use multiple bank accounts to siphon government funds, those familiar with the programme said on Thursday.
Over 513 names, according to the government were discovered to be linked to 1370 bank accounts which were used to steal government funds.
“When you multiply N65,000 by 1370, you are likely to arrive at N89,050000. This is huge considering that this is being used to pacify the militants who are apparently not doing anything,” a source in the PAP said.
This was discovered by linking all the Bank Verification Number, BVN, of the militants. The government cited one instance where 30 names were linked to one BVN.
This is the subject of the ongoing investigations by PAP and the Office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, which promised on Wednesday to get to the bottom of the alleged fraud.
PAP made the announcement after some militants protested non-payment of their allowances for months.
Over 300 Niger Delta ex-agitators gathered in front of the national assembly on Tuesday to protest the suspension of their monthly N65,000 stipend.
But the Amnesty Office said it took the decision not to pay the militants after it discovered that the PAP is riddled with a huge scam.
Freston Akpor, media aide to the PAP interim administrator, said the names of those involved in the alleged fraud, alongside some bank officials have been forwarded to the ONSA for further investigation.
He said, “So the investigation is ongoing and honestly I must tell you there is nothing the Presidential Amnesty Programme can do now over this matter until the investigation is concluded and then the ONSA will take a decision on what to do.
“This is a financial crime that is why the ONSA is investigating the matter. The policy is one name, one BVN. But in a situation where you have more than 30 names linked to one BVN, it becomes an issue.
“We discovered that 513 names were linked to 1370 accounts. And these are the people who have cases to answer. As it stands those who are protesting are the people who fall within those who have multiple accounts linked to their BVN.”
