Kagara Abduction: SERAP Asks Buhari to Probe UBEC, SUBEB

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, to promptly probe allegations of corruption in the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs) between 2004 and 2020, including the missing N3.836 billion that was documented in the 2017 Annual Report by the Auditor-General of the Federation.

The SERAP, in an open letter dated February 20, 2021, and signed by SERAP,” Deputy Director, Mr. Kolawole Oluwadare, said that allegations of corruption in UBEC and SUBEBs violated the right to education of millions of Nigerian children who continued to face unsuitable learning conditions.

The organisation urged Malami to direct the anti-corruption agencies to make public the outcome of any investigation, and to prosecute suspected perpetrators if there is relevant admissible evidence.

It also urged Buhari to ensure prompt investigation into the spending of money budgeted for the Safe School Initiative since 2014, including N3.2 billion from the federal government and private donors meant to ensure a safer school environment for children, and to clean up an apparently entrenched system of corruption in the education sector.

The letter reads in part: ‘’Many years of unresolved allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the UBEC and the SUBEBs have resulted in decreasing quality of education for poor children while many politicians send their own children to the best private schools in the country and abroad, and thereby leaving behind generations of poor children.

‘’We would be grateful if your government would indicate the measures being taken to address the allegations and to implement the proposed recommendations within 14 days of the receipt and/ or publication of this letter.