A conglomeration of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Nigeria, Coalition For Truth and Justice (CfT&J), has alleged it uncovered plots by some protesters who plan to invade the Abuja headquarters of the  National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the guise of protests.

The group also claimed that the protesters, whom it said are parading themselves as contractors of the agency, have colluded to stage protests to NEMA office over alleged non-payment for the projects they executed for the agency.

The National Co-ordinator of  CfT&J, Barrister Timothy Charles,  in a statement issued on Tuesday, claimed that the protesters are aimed at “blackmailing and  arm-twisting the current leadership  of NEMA led by the Director-General, Engr. Mustapha Maihaja  into honoring  fake  contractual obligations,  inflated payment vouchers or making bogus payments  on frivolous claims by contractors  without recourse to  due process  or laid down procedures.”

According to the statement, “the CSOs have it on good authority  that  the decision of the so-called contractors to embark on this shameful,  unlawful act and blackmail  of the DG  NEMA, Engr. Mustapha  is spurred by  the desire of these elements to sustain  the culture and habit  of extracting  fake payments for  bogus or  claims for non-existent contracts as done in the past.

It said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is currently probing past administrations of the agency over various layers of sleaze…and “that the sum of N2.5 billion has been established by the preliminary report of the EFCC  as embezzled, which report was  submitted  to the Governing Board of NEMA,” it claimed.

It said, “The  fraud  which was allegedly committed by the former DG NEMA,  six directors and other subordinate staff  is still under investigation by the anti-graft agency.

“And the tentative report suggests that the EFCC is querying  alleged diversion of  foods and relief materials  for IDPs;  the use of fake companies and  weigh bills  to secure NEMA  contracts by some directors;   the incorporation of multiple  personal companies by some directors to secure the agency’s  contracts;  fake vouchers for delivery of relief materials to non-existent IDP camps  among others.

“These are grave financial  improprieties and crimes which are offensive to extant financial laws of Nigeria. It mainly violates   and abuses the due process and accountability. It is also a taint on anti-corruption stand of the administration of President Muhammedu Buhari as represented in NEMA by Engr. Maihaja.”

“It is further confirmation of the sophisticated web , both within  and outside  the agency,  which have  drained  NEMA  of mindboggling sums of money  over unverified  and fraudulent contractual obligations.

“We perceive it as the continuation of the various subterranean schemes by the tentatively indicted  former and serving  officials of the agency, including  directors who allegedly perpetrated the frauds to further subvert the cause of justice.

“We strongly object to any attempt by the current NEMA management to honour any of the pending  contractual obligations  with payments, until the EFCC concludes its investigations and certify  genuine  contracts  and payments which do  not contravene the law  before  payment is affected.

“But in the interim, the CSOs  will not hesitate to halt  any  activity by these contractors in connivance with some criminal elements  designed to sabotage NEMA. We shall further expose them and  the  criminal  records of their backers  if these suspicious elements  do not desist from such an inglorious  adventure.

“It is completely needless to seek to overheat the polity in order to benefit illegally and enrich themselves with bogus claims of contracts with public funds.  Commonsense should have alerted these so-called contractors of the impracticability of demanding payments for contracts alleged as fraudulent and under the scrutiny of the anti-graft agency.

“The contractors with genuine and reasonable claims to any executed contract with the agency  should be  patient enough to wait for the outcome of EFCC investigations or  after  the appropriate scrutiny in the best interest of the country.

“Indeed, information at the disposal of the  CSOs indicates that the planned protests by the contractors is a decoy to gain illegal access into the premises of the agency to  set the  NEMA office, Abuja,  on fire. This is primed  to destroy  any evidence to truncate the EFCC ongoing investigations of the alleged contracts  fraud  in NEMA  to  let the suspects off the hook.”

The group further called on all security agencies not to allow the protesters disrupt the peace of the agency.