Madalla bombing: Furore over cash donations

In the wake of the Madalla bombing, N50 million was presented to the St. Theresa’s Catholic Church by Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio. Later, the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi promised N25 million to the Church. Weekly Trust investigations show that property owners residing close to the church whose houses and […]

In the wake of the Madalla bombing, N50 million was presented to the St. Theresa’s Catholic Church by Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio. Later, the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi promised N25 million to the Church. Weekly Trust investigations show that property owners residing close to the church whose houses and shops were damaged as a consequence of the blast, lament that they have not received any of these monies.

People who reside in the immediate vicinity of the Catholic Church, Madalla, Niger state, are crying out on account of the fact that they have been excluded when cash donations  were brought to the Church, for the victims of the Christmas day attack last December. They live opposite the church, but they have not received a single Kobo since the bombing, despite the fact that in one dramatic instance, and there are many of such, the entire roof of a house was blown off during the attack, windows were smashed, walls cracked right to their foundations, and then there are the deep emotional scars as well. These are still very alive and will take many years to heal completely. In many cases, life has to begin all over again. These residents regularly pay taxes to the Niger State Government and have always conducted themselves like loyal citizens. They live around the church, but they feel as though they live very far away. They are so near, but yet so far. Many have since become squatters in a community where they once possessed their own dwellings, or are today living in conditions which are truly unacceptable.

In unison, and at the climax of their protest, the people told Weekly Trust that “we too, are victims.”

Austin Iloba Ezeike, one  of the affected residents and Secretary, Committee of Property Owners Madalla Bomb Blast, tells Weekly Trust that “after six months we have not received any form of compensation from the government, even though the Governor of Niger State and the President promised various forms of assistance to the victims of the blast, especially property owners.

“Niger State Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, sometime in February this year, gave cash gifts to bereaved families and the injured. In April, they came and gave out cash to the injured, and those who lost their cars or vehicles. To our surprise, property owners were not carried along. The only succour we had was from NEMA, which gave us relief materials in March. They also gave blankets, vegetable oil, cement, nails and plywood, which we felt was not adequate to bring the building back to its former position.”

He also says that he received 80 bags of cement from the NEMA, and that the Madalla property owners had not received a single Kobo from either NEMA, NSEMA, or from private donors. At this point the affected residents decided to form a pressure group to pursue their case. The group now went to Minna to meet the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese Dr. Martins Uzoukwu.

According to Mr Ezeike, “immediately after the blast, Reverend Achi, the Parish Priest of St Theresa’s Catholic Church, addressed property owners and requested for an estimate and valuation report of the property which were destroyed. These were collated and delivered to him. We met him on two occasions…All of a sudden he made a U-turn… So, we decided to visit the Bishop of Minna. The Bishop promised he was going to send somebody to us. This was in April. After admitting that the Church has received N50 million from Governor Akpabio, and N25 million from the CBN, the Bishop of Minna said Reverend Michael Gadache would be coming to disburse the fund to us.

“He eventually came and addressed us in the church in April. He said he would like to work with us, and said that the Bishop had sent him to disburse the fund, and that he would be inviting us from time to time, and that he was going to fix a date when the disbursement will be made. Ever since then we have not heard from him, and all efforts to contact him have proved abortive.” Also calls made to the Bishop of Minna to intimate him of the development proved abortive. So far, Austin Ezeike said he has spent about N1.7 million to renovate his house which was badly affected by the blast, monies which he hopes the government would refund to him soon.

Mohammed Tahir, the caretaker of one of the houses, says that the nine self-contained flats he looks after were badly affected in the explosion. He says that the ceilings were damaged, as well as the glasses, and there were cracks across the building. Some of his shops collapsed, he adds.

The affected residents of Madalla, in a letter to the Governor of Niger state dated 9th February 2012, said “You did promise during your speech, the immediate inauguration of a committee that would ascertain the extent of damages, the statistics of the dead, the injured and the level of assistance that would be extended to these victims. Your speech was welcomed with joy and with the euphoria and expectation that no party or victim would be excluded from your promise and assistance…Suffice it to say that ever since then, eight weeks after, no form of succour has come our way (property victims). Most painfully is the word ‘victims’ being misunderstood to mean the dead and the injured, hence donations and relief materials donated by well meaning Nigerians, donor agencies and Non Governmental Organisations are channeled to the St Theresa’s church.”

In another letter to the Public Complaints Commission, dated 25 March 2012, the association states ‘Property owners have been excluded from the list of beneficiaries in the compensation exercise of the Niger state government…Majority of us whose residency spans over 15 years in Madalla had contributed to the revenue profile of Suleja Local Government area in particular, and Niger state in general. Hence, the big question is why the exclusion?”

A letter to Reverend Achi, Parish Priest of St Theresa’s Catholic Church Madalla, dated 22nd February 2012, states “We property owners are victims too and should be carried along. Thank God the CBN Governor took a bold step when he announced that his donation is meant for ‘victims of the bomb blast, and that all and sundry should be carried along in the disbursement.”

The St Theresa’s Catholic Church has responded by showing this reporter that the monies amounting to N50 million sent in by Governor Godswill Akpabio were for each next of kin of the 44 victims of the Christmas Day bombing. This amounts to N44 million. The balance of six million naira was for the injured, all in keeping with the Governors instruction, says Reverend Ahmadu Michael Gadache, Director of the Counselling Centre of the St Theresa’s Catholic Church and spokesperson of the church. There was therefore no space to provide for the property owners from this amount.

“Governor Godswill Akpabio made a public pronouncement at the Ordination of a Bishop in Abuja, that he’s going to support the Madalla situation with N50 million. There and then he said, a million naira should be given to each of the families of those who died, and the remaining money left will be for those who were injured in the blast and undergoing treatment.”

He adds that of the 44 who died, only 26 are members of the church. The other persons were either those passing along the road, or were those caught up in the blast because of their closeness to the scene of the explosion. Of the N25 million which the Governor of the Central Bank promised to send, the Church says it has not received this money.

On this Reverend Dagache explains “The Governor of the Central Bank came and made a promise of N25 million. What I would tell you out rightly is that that promise has not been redeemed. It has not reached my office, and it has not reached the structure of the church in the Catholic Diocese of Minna. Even if the promise had been redeemed, the Central Bank Governor also mentioned what the money was to be used for. He said he was giving that donation to help the victims of the bomb blast.” Weekly Trust findings also showed that the money from the CBN has been passed to the Niger state government by the former. A similar procedure was followed when the CBN gave   N100 million to victims of the Boko Haram attacks in Kano earlier this year. That too went through the Kano state government.

Reverend Dagache adds “the N50 million given by Governor Akpabio is the only money which the Church has received from any government structure. We have not received any Kobo from the Niger state government. Rather the Niger state government has come here through the Niger State Management Agency (NSEMA). This is a government structure. How they got the list they worked with my office cannot explain. The officials of NSEMA have been coming here to give out compensation to the victims involved. It’s not in our power to judge whether they did it well or not.”

Reverend Gadache explains “I have listened to the property owners and actually pity them. Thus, I have written several letters to different structures, even the government structures, reminding these groups that our people and the property owners are still badly affected, and that help and support should reach them. I have gone out of my way to write the various structures of government, seeking help, even for the property owners. As we are speaking now, there is no outcome yet. I have written to the federal government as well as to the Niger state government.  I believe that it was our letter that made the Niger state government to come and give out the compensation. But they did not come through us. They came directly through NSEMA.”