Mr. Femi Falana, Chairman, Board of Trustees, CDHR and Comrade Kehinde Taiga.
By Abasifreke Effiong
Allegations of financial malfeasance and fraud have severed the National Executive Committee (NEC) of Nigeria’s foremost human rights group, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, CDHR.
Two factions have emerged as a result of the crisis, each claiming to be the authentic National Executive Committee of the group.
One faction is led by the National President, Mr. Osagie Obayuwana and the other faction is led by the National Vice Chairman, Comrade Kehinde Taiga.
Mr. Obayuwana’s led faction has the support of the Board of Trustee of CDHR chaired by human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana SAN, while Comrade Taiga’s faction is supported by five out of eight members of NEC, some of whom the Falana’s backed faction expelled from the organisation last month.
The National President of CDHR, Mr. Obayuwana has been suspended by the Comrade Taiga’s led faction of NEC.
Mr. Obayuwana’s led NEC had earlier suspended Comrade Taiga and members of his faction from the CDHR over allegations of fraud and indiscipline.
However, both factions are holding public events using the name of CDHR.
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An independent investigation by The Dune has revealed that the current crisis in CDHR is related to allegations of financial malfeasance and fraud against Mr. Obayuwana and Comrade Taiga.
▪ Two factions, different stories
Leaders of the two factions have given different reasons for the crisis rocking the association.
Mr Obayuwana told The Dune that the crisis in CDHR is a reaction to on-going effort to sanitize the organisation from “fraudsters”.
He said in a phone interview with this reporter that Comrade Kehinde Taiga was suspended from CDHR over cases of corruption including sales of membership of CDHR to ‘yahoo boys’, and working with the police to protect internet fraudsters for a fee.
Mr. Osagie Obayuwana, National President, CDHR.
Mr. Obayuwana claimed that Comrade Taiga working with some members of CDHR in Delta State collected N300,000 each to give “known fraudsters” membership of CDHR, an allegation Taiga said Obayuwana has no strand of proof.
“The whole idea is to sanitize CDHR from fraudsters. Taiga led a ring of persons in Delta State branch and they were selling the membership of CDHR to fraudsters, yahoo boys, and offering them protection.
Taiga and his gang would charge as much as N300,000 to give membership cards to known fraudsters. They will be the ones who will go and tell the police that these fraudsters have recently made some money; they will negotiate between the police and the fraudsters how much of what was made should be sent to the police. They will share this money to the police and turn around and go to the fraudsters to ask for appreciation money.
This case became so widespread that in Delta State a lot of people knew about it. There are people who were working with them who now fell apart with them. The Delta State branch set up a committee to investigate this and Taiga could not defend himself. The report of that committee was adopted by the National Executive Committee of CDHR. That was when Taiga was suspended”, Obayuwana said.
Comrade Taiga has given a different reason altogether for the crisis.
He attributed the crisis to “cover up, illegality and violation of the constitution” by the National President, Mr. Osagie Obayuwana, whom he said remains suspended from the association.
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Comrade Taiga said Obayuwana is under investigation for “cover up for his predecessor. The National President, now suspended, is under investigation for the embezzlement of N5 million and his predecessor (Comrade Malachy Ugwummadu) is under investigation for the embezzlement of over N36 million that he spent in four years.”
“CDHR has made millions of Naira, but none of the Presidents even from the days of the BoT chairman till date, has given account. None of them has employed external auditor to audit the account of the committee as stipulated by the constitution. But I tell you this cannot continue in my regime as National Vice President.
At the meeting we had in Benin in August 2020, simple majority asked him (Obayuwana) to tell the treasurer to give us financial report in black and white. The treasurer stood up and said the money (N5million) has been spent and what was left was N218,000. We now asked how was the money spent to N218,000, the President got angry, stood up and said the money has been spent and that’s final. The President is now overriding the decisions of the NEC and NC.
I wrote a petition to BoT but the BoT refused to come out with positive report. Being that the BoT chairman, Femi Falana, the suspended President and immediate past President are in the same cabal, they failed to follow what the constitution stated. Now they are using their powers as old men and founders of the organisation to make sure that what they say is final setting aside what the constitution says.
We had a meeting in Abuja, comprising five members of NEC against two. At that meeting we received the letter of suspension of the Obayuwana from his own branch, Edo State, so we ratified his suspension.
After NEC had ratified his suspension, he went and convened an illegal virtual meeting, mentioned some names who have since denied attendance at the virtual meeting, which he claimed was a National Executive meeting. The National Executive comprises NEC, three executive from each State. The illegal virtual meeting Osagie Obayuwana called had BoT, past vice presidents and others members who are not empowered by the constitution to attend National Council meeting. So, the virtual meeting is illegal, and the National President remains suspended until the National Council meets”, Comrade Taiga narrated.
▪ How T.B Joshua’s N5million donation tears CDHR apart again
In December 2019, Nigeria’s charismatic pastor and televangelist, Temitope B. Joshua, founder of The Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN, reportedly donated N5million, a coaster bus and 1500 bags of rice to the CDHR.
The Dune learnt that this is not the first time Pastor T.B. Joshua’s largesse has caused a fight in CDHR.
The Lagos State exco led by Mr. Alex Omotehinse accused Ugwummadu led NEC of CDHR of ‘persecution’ because it refused to mobilise members of the branch to carry placards in solidarity with Pastor T.B. Joshua who was standing trial in Lagos State corona court over the collapse of his Synagogue church building which reportedly left about 100 people dead.
However, apart from Comrade Taiga, chairman of one of the branches of CDHR who spoke on condition of anonymity said the National Council of the association which comprises NEC and three executives from the branches are always divided on issue of accountability.
He said the national leadership of CDHR runs an opaque budget system.
“Right from time, leadership and members have not always agreed on the way accounts are handled in CDHR. Under the immediate past President (Comrade Malachy Ugwummadu) the Treasurer would tender the financial report for us to peruse and the report would be collected from us.
“The constitution says the National President should present his budget for every fiscal year for approval by the NEC. This has never been done. The Obayuwana led NEC cannot come clean on the issue of arbitrary expenditures”, he said.
▪ Expulsion of Comrade Taiga and others from CDHR
Comrade Taiga has insisted that the virtual National Council meeting convened on January 30th by Mr. Obayuwana was illegal, but the Chairman of the BoT of CDHR, Mr. Femi Falana SAN, said the National Council at that meeting approved the expulsion of Comrade Taiga from CDHR.
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National Council is the highest decision-making organ of CDHR.
Mr. Falana insisted that Mr. Obayuwana remains the National President of CDHR.
“The BoT does not suspend members, its sees to the good conduct of officers of the organisation and ensure that each of the organs comply to the constitution. Now, when this problem arose in Delta and Lagos State, all the parties referred the problems to the BoT. The BoT has not less than three senior lawyers and so we could not have taken a decision outside the constitution.
The Delta State branch had investigated Taiga. That was what informed the decision of NEC on him. They (NEC) now referred his suspension to the BoT; the BoT looked at the report of the Delta State committee and saw no basis why the suspension by NEC should be lifted.
We couldn’t recommend that it should be lifted. It was the National Council that took the decision to expel him. National Council made up of three members from each branch, I think 12 branches were present, took the decision. He (Taiga) is not the only one affected.
With respect to the purported suspension of Mr. Osagie Obayuwana, it was not done by any organ of CDHR. It was a former chairman of Edo State, when I say former, his tenure had expired, who purported to have suspended Obayuwana. So, there is no crisis really.”
A communique issued at the National Council meeting on Saturday 30th January, which was sent to this reporter indicated that James Chikwendu, Gerald Katchy, and Gaima Jonathan from Delta State branch have been expelled from CDHR.
Three members of NEC, Barr Violet Ekumankuma, Ayuba Musa, and Roy Michael Olokungboye from Delta State branch were suspended from CDHR for one year while Comrade Israel Joe and Harrison Itula from Delta State branch were cautioned.
▪ Financial Malfeasance Against Mr. Obayuwana
The BoT chairman, Mr. Falana said allegations of financial impropriety against Obayuwana led National Executive Committee of CDHR have no basis.
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Falana told this reporter on Monday that the allegations are baseless.
“If I say someone stole N1 million, I should be able to give you details. The BoT has been asking for details to prove this allegation. Up till now he (Taiga) has not given us the details. You are saying that Osagie stole N5million, what is the basis of this your allegation? If you say an account should be audited, that is fine. You can insist that an account be audited, not that someone has stolen money, because you must have a basis to say someone stole money”, Falana stated.
▪ More Crisis Ahead
Even though Mr. Femi Falana has insisted that “there is no crisis really”, Comrade Taiga’s faction of the National Executive Committee of CDHR has convened a National Council meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, later this month.
The Dune learnt reliably that top on the agenda for the meeting would be the ratification of the suspension of Mr. Obayuwana as National President of CDHR.
