N1.9b Ebola fraud: Workers prevent Police from arresting Perm Sec, directors

There was a mild drama at the Federal Ministry of Health in Abuja on Wednesday as workers prevented policemen from arresting the Permanent Secretary and some directors over the mismanagement of the N1.9 billion Ebola fund.
A police team led by one Inspector Adamu from the Analytical Tracking and Interception unit under the Inspector General of Police monitoring team had stormed the ministry at the Phase 11 of the Federal Secretariat to arrest top officials in the ministry.
Those pencilled down for arrest included the Permanent Secretary, Linus Awute; the Chief Executive Officer/National Coordinator of the National Centre for Disease Control, Prof. Abdulsalam Nasidi; the Director of Emergency Health Response, John Akintunde Kehinde; and the team leader of the Nigerian volunteers and deputy head of the ASEOWA mission, Dr. Joshua Obasanya, who was said to be out of the country.
Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu was the Minister of Health when the money was released.
But rather than allowing the officers to be arrested and defend the various allegations made against them, the workers barricaded the exit point, asking the private security guards to lock the gate.
To guide against causing chaos, the plain clothes security team left the ministry without accomplishing their mission.
The police had commenced investigations into the management of the Ebola fund sequel to a petition filed by one Dr. Davidson George, alleging fraud and gross mismanagement.
According to a 15-page document provided to back up the claims, isolation tents were procured to the tune of N900 million.
An expenditure payment voucher dated August 11, 2014, being personal advance granted one Musa A.A., was initiated by Kehinde for the release of N28.220 million for the decontamination of First Consultant hospital, Obalende, Lagos.
However, the decontamination was said to have been done by the Lagos State Government and not the Federal Ministry of Health.
Nasidi was said to have withdrawn N63,581,250 million, claiming it was meant for pre-departure training of Nigerian volunteers who left the country on December 5, 2014 for Liberia and Sierra Leone.
But the African Union Commission was said to have paid for all the expenses relating to volunteers.
On December 23, 2014, N30.769 million was withdrawn from the Ebola account in favour of Musa A. Musa in Abuja, supposedly for a treatment research group on Ebola.
An expenditure of N14.415 million was also recorded to host a meeting for 15 people from which Prof. Nasidi collected N250,000 as local running per kilometre; N216,000 for airfare; and N375,000 as sitting allowance.
According to the head of the police team, they decided to storm the ministry to effect arrest because the officers involved had declined several invitations sent to them to come and defend the allegations.