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How $3.4bn IMF COVID-19 Loan Was Allegedly Diverted — Falana
Senior Advocate of Nigeria and renowned human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has called for an immediate investigation into the alleged diversion of a $3.4 billion loan Nigeria received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2020 to combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement released on Sunday, Falana expressed concern over the apparent mismanagement of the emergency funds, which were intended to support Nigeria’s healthcare system, protect jobs, and stabilise the economy during one of the most disruptive global crises in modern history.
“It is pertinent to recall that in the wake of the COVID-19 in 2020, Nigeria requested emergency assistance of about US$3.4 billion — equivalent to 100 percent of its quota from the International Monetary Fund to shore up the country’s economy and help businesses weather the storm of a deadly pandemic that disrupted global markets and plunged the world into a recession,” he said.
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The IMF Executive Board had approved the disbursement on April 28, 2020, under its Rapid Financing Instrument.
The Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair at the time, Mr. Mitsuhiro Furusawa, emphasized that, “The emergency financing under the RFI will provide much-needed liquidity support to respond to the urgent BOP needs. Additional assistance from development partners will be required to support the government’s efforts and close the large financing gap.
“The implementation of proper governance arrangements—including through the publication and independent audit of crisis-mitigating spending and procurement processes—is crucial to ensure emergency funds are used for their intended purposes.”
Falana, however, said the IMF failed to uphold that commitment. “Characteristically, the IMF Management, which jointly manages the neocolonial economy of Nigeria with the Federal Government, failed to ensure emergency funds were used ‘for their intended purposes.’”
He based his claim on the findings of the 2020 audit report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, made public in January 2024.
According to the report, $2.4 billion from the loan was initially transferred to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, with the remaining balance deposited at the Bank of China in Shanghai.
Within weeks, both amounts were reportedly moved again—this time to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China—for short-term investments.
“These transactions, according to the audit, were not supported by documentation or approvals from the Federal Government or the CBN’s Investment Committee, and the funds were subsequently reclassified as part of the CBN’s external reserves rather than the Federal Government’s holdings.
“This reclassification, the report noted, allowed interest to be earned on the funds, contrary to the emergency spending purpose for which they were approved,” Falana explained.
Further irregularities were recorded in August 2020 when the Federal Ministry of Finance requested the monetisation of $700 million to support the national budget.
“The Central Bank, according to the report, approved a debit of ₦265.65 billion, applying a higher-than-official exchange rate of ₦379.5/$ as against the prevailing ₦360.5/$.
The funds were credited to three accounts: ₦252 billion went into the COVID-19 Public Sector Account, ₦13.3 billion to the Forex Equalisation Account, and ₦350 million to the Exchange Commission Account.
Falana pointed to additional concerns from the Auditor-General’s findings: “The audit noted that a 2% commission was deducted from the monetised amount, even though the funds were categorised as Federal Government property.
At the end of 2020, an unmonetised balance of $2.7 billion — equivalent to approximately ₦1.02 trillion — remained unaccounted for, according to the Auditor-General’s report.”
The audit urged the CBN Governor to provide an explanation for the movement and reclassification of the funds without due approval.
It further demanded access to bank statements confirming the unmonetised balance, recovery of the ₦13.3 billion and ₦350 million, and full remittance of interest earned on the investments. It warned that failure to do so would attract penalties under financial regulations.
According to Falana, “The Auditor-General wants the money recovered and remitted to the public treasury, and for the evidence of remittance to be forwarded to the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly.
“He also said the Auditor-General also recommended that anyone suspected to be involved should be ‘sanctioned and handed over to the EFCC and ICPC for investigation and prosecution, as provided for in paragraph 3112 of the Financial Regulations.’”
However, the lawyer expressed disappointment that both chambers of the National Assembly have not acted on the report.
“Even though the Auditor-General of the Federation submitted the 2020 Annual Report to each House of the National Assembly, both Houses have failed to cause the report to be considered by the committees responsible for public accounts, to cover up the criminal diversion of the $3.4 IMF and several trillions of Naira set out in the Auditor-General’s report, in utter contravention of section 85(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.”
On behalf of the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), Falana issued a two-pronged demand—urging Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies, the EFCC and ICPC, to probe the matter, and calling on the IMF Board to conduct its own investigation.
“We also call on the IMF Board to probe the deliberate refusal of its management to ensure that the emergency funds were used for their intended purposes,” he said.
Falana also asked the IMF to halt collection of any remaining charges on the loan—estimated at SDR 125.99 million (₦275.28 billion)—pending the outcome of a thorough investigation.
Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has left for vacation in Europe even as he ordered a probe into the emerging dispute over the kingship of Koka town in Obokun Local Government.
According to a government house statement on Sunday in Osogbo, the governor will also embark on medicals as part of the vacation and is headed to the United Kingdom among other destinations to be announced later.
“I am taking a short break to refresh and get further prepared to serve the good people of Osun state”, the governor stated while taking off at the Lagos airport.
He however directed the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to probe the circumstances surrounding the reported appointment of another king for Koka Ilase, leading to alleged two kings in the same town.
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The ministry was instructed to review the situation and enforce due process of the law in respect of the chieftaincy law and tradition.
“I read of another King appointed outside the one on the stool. The ministry is hereby directed to look into the dispute and issue a report to set the records straight.
“I however urge all stakeholders to remain peaceful as the ministry does the needful. Kingship is governed by extant laws and regulations and the government will stand by the law and tradition of our people”, the governor posited.
There are conflicting reports emanating from Rivers State, with two stakeholders on the Okrika pipeline incident, sharing conflicting signals to the world.
On its part, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) revealed that four corpses had been sighted in connection with the incident, while Indorama Petrochemical Limited (IPL) washed its hands off, denying any link to the reported fatalities.
What is clear, however, is that on Saturday, there was an ugly incident at Jetty Creeks, Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State which cost human lives, and has led to conflicting accounts over what caused the deaths and what the victims were doing at the time of the incident.
The NSCDC Rivers State Command, in an update issued by its spokesperson, Olufemi Ayodele, said its undercover team, after conducting further assessment and surveillance of the affected area, sighted four corpses believed to be connected to the incident.
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The command, however, stressed that the identities of the deceased and the circumstances surrounding their deaths were still being verified.
One of the victims was identified as Taribo Levia, whose remains had reportedly been buried according to traditional customs. Other persons reportedly sighted were Ogoloma Tamunoene Fred, Amiso and Belema Siyerminma from Ngabiri.
The command said earlier casualty figures circulating in the aftermath of the incident were not fully verified and might have been overstated.
It said it had commenced further investigation and information gathering with relevant stakeholders to determine the immediate and remote causes of the incident, establish the identities of all victims and ascertain whether anyone remained unaccounted for.
The NSCDC also warned residents against vandalism, unauthorised access to petroleum facilities, illegal tampering with pipelines and the dangerous practice of scooping petroleum products.
According to Ayodele, “The command notes that the initial casualty figures circulating in the aftermath of the incident were not fully verified and may have been overstated. The command is therefore relying on information obtained through its ongoing field assessment and investigation to establish the actual number of victims.
“The Rivers State Commandant noted that the NSCDC has commenced further investigation and information gathering in collaboration with relevant stakeholders to establish the immediate and remote causes of the incident, ascertain the identities of all victims and determine whether any persons remain unaccounted for,” Ayodele added.
But the management of Indorama, through Major Fidelis Akando (rtd.), Coordinator of Pipeline Surveillance in Indorama, dismissed reports linking the company or its facility to the deaths.
Akando, who spoke during an inspection of the area, said he had been stationed at the location since Monday in connection with the lifting of one of Indorama’s by-products, known as cracked C5, into a vessel.
He explained that stakeholders, including security agencies, had been mobilised for the operation and that there was heavy security presence around the jetty and pipeline corridor.
He said: “The distance between the petrochemical refinery and the jetty is about 7.5 kilometres and is covered by security personnel.”
He described as “embarrassing” and “very unfortunate” reports that between 37 and 40 people had died while allegedly scooping petroleum products from an Indorama pipeline.
Akando insisted that no such incident occurred within the facility or the area where he had been stationed since Monday.
He said while people had previously attempted to rupture pipelines carrying petroleum by-products, Indorama had neither authorised nor encouraged such activities.
“If a thief is injured in the course of stealing, will you blame the owner of the house?” he queried, stressing that the company had no connection with the alleged incident.
A visit to communities surrounding the NNPC jetty, in Okrika, also produced conflicting accounts.
Some residents denied witnessing any major fire outbreak or mass casualty in the area, although they acknowledged that people sometimes ventured into the waterways to collect petroleum products during loading operations.
However, residents in other parts of Okrika said some of the deceased were fishermen and had no involvement in illegal oil activities.
Residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity, claimed that the victims were fishing around a creek near the Beat Four pipeline axis when the incident occurred.
They alleged that the victims inhaled a substance following an explosion and were unable to escape because of the movement of the water.
Arabibia Minanyo, whose husband was among those reported dead, said the incident occurred on Tuesday. She maintained that her husband was not involved in illegal oil activities and had since been buried according to the customs of the community.
The conflicting accounts have heightened calls for an independent and transparent investigation into the incident.
A military aircraft has crashed during an airshow at a base outside Athens, Greece, killing the two pilots onboard.
The incident occurred on Saturday during the annual “Athens Flying Week” airshow, according to the Greek news agency ANA.
The aircraft, identified as an F-4 Phantom, had reportedly just taken off when it suddenly lost altitude and crashed.
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The crash happened in front of thousands of visitors attending the airshow and was followed by an explosion.
The two pilots aboard the aircraft died in the crash, while the circumstances that led to the aircraft losing altitude remained unclear.
A fire service helicopter was dispatched to the scene to extinguish the blaze caused by the crash, according to Greece’s public broadcaster, ERT.
Following the incident, Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias cancelled a planned trip to Thessaloniki’s International Fair and travelled to the crash site.
Authorities are expected to investigate the crash to determine what caused the military aircraft to lose altitude shortly after take-off.
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