Niger Delta Group Petitions ICPC to Probe Alleged N50bn Contract Irregularities at Amnesty Office
- The Niger Delta Liberation Force filed a formal petition to the ICPC on September 15, 2026, calling for a probe into the Presidential Amnesty Programme
- The petition flagged an alleged N50 billion contract whose origin, beneficiaries, and approval process the group said remain unclear
- The NDLF also raised concerns about an alleged N1.9 billion shortfall tied to a PAP empowerment scheme and irregularities in its scholarship and payroll records
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The Niger Delta Liberation Force (NDLF) has asked the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate alleged corruption, procurement fraud, abuse of office, and mismanagement of funds at the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).
The petition, dated September 15, 2026, was addressed to the ICPC chairman at the commission's Abuja headquarters and signed by Akpos Owei-Keme, the NDLF's secretary. It was accompanied by six annexures containing a schedule of allegations, documentary evidence, published reports, a list of persons and companies said to require investigation, a chronology of events, and a schedule of contracts and payments.
Source: UGC
N50 Billion Contract Under Scrutiny
One of the concerns in the document centres on an alleged N50 billion contract, which the group described as opaque in its origin and beneficiaries. The NDLF asked the ICPC to determine who initiated and approved the contract, who the contractor is, and who ultimately owns the company involved. The petition also sought clarity on whether any PAP official held an undisclosed interest in the contractor, whether conflict-of-interest disclosures were ever made, and whether payments had already been released for work that may not have been properly carried out.
Beyond that contract, the group called for a wider review of PAP's procurement practices during the relevant period, covering tender processes, bid evaluations, single-source and emergency procurement, contract variations, and consultant appointments. The NDLF also urged scrutiny of companies with shared directors, common business addresses, or recent incorporation that allegedly had links to PAP officials or those with influence over procurement decisions.
Payroll, Scholarships, and a N1.9bn Shortfall
The petition also flagged an alleged shortfall of about N1.9 billion within the Train, Employ and Mentor scheme, one of PAP's empowerment initiatives. The NDLF asked investigators to trace the funds from appropriation through to disbursement, identifying how much was released, how much was meant for beneficiaries, and what authority sanctioned any deductions along the way.
Concerns were also raised about PAP's payroll and beneficiary databases, as well as its scholarship component. The group asked the ICPC to cross-reference Corporate Affairs Commission records, procurement files, and shareholding information to uncover any undisclosed stake that PAP officers or politically exposed persons may have held in companies that received substantial PAP funds.
The NDLF further urged a systemic corruption-risk assessment of the programme to check for ghost beneficiaries, fictitious contractors, inflated contracts, and the diversion of programme resources.
Among its formal requests, the group asked the ICPC to register the petition, open a preliminary inquiry, and preserve relevant documentary and electronic evidence, including contracts, emails, financial records, and beneficiary databases.
The NDLF said it was not asking the commission to presume guilt against any individual.
"Where allegations are found to be unsubstantiated, that conclusion should be recorded," the petition states, adding that "where evidence of corruption is established, the law should take its course without regard to status, office, political affiliation or influence."
ICPC Uncovers Official Who Enrolled 14 Family Members on Govt Payroll
In another report, the ICPC has uncovered a series of ghost worker schemes in which government officials enrolled family members on public payrolls to fraudulently collect multiple salaries.
ICPC Chairman Musa Aliyu made the disclosure on Thursday, August 13, in Abuja during his keynote address at the 2026 Economic Confidential Lecture and National Spokespersons Award.
Aliyu told attendees that investigators found one official who had registered 14 relatives on the government payroll and was living in a hotel funded by a public office while drawing the associated salaries.
Source: Legit.ng
