By Fatima Saka
Nigerian lawyer and Human right activist Femi Falana has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe the spending of ecological funds in the atmosphere of devastating flooding ravaging communities across the country.
Falana made this statement on Tuesday at the convocation lecture of the Augustine University, Ilara, Lagos.
The human rights lawyer said the mismanagement of the funds is a crime against humanity. Mr Falana says the mismanagement of the funds, domiciled at the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, is a crime against humanity.
“The mismanagement of ecological funds is a crime against humanity because it is responsible for the loss of many lives, displacement of millions of people, and destruction of properties worth trillions of Naira,” Mr Falana said.
He added, “Before the proposed probe by the EFCC the Federal Government should come to the aid of the affected state governments. However, the EFCC should probe the involvement of officials of the Federal Government and state governments.”
Falana lamented the government is failing to release money from the ecological fund to the affected states.
The human rights lawyer also opined that it was wrong for the regime to ask citizens to hold state governments accountable for the disaster.
“In particular, the federal government has failed to release money from the ecological fund to the affected states. On their own part, the various state governments have equally failed to provide relief materials for the victims.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government did not ask the citizens to hold the state governments to account for funds meant for building and equipping hospitals,” he said.
He, however, asked the federal government to ensure that measures to mitigate flooding become a top priority in the interest of the citizens.