Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) has welcomed the reported discovery of fake and counterfeit government agencies and commended the Federal Government for allowing these disturbing revelations to come to public attention rather than concealing them.

However, CDHR insisted that discovery must not be the end of the matter.

CDHR therefore called on the Federal Government to immediately commence a comprehensive, transparent and independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the creation, registration, operation and funding of all identified fake agencies.

President of CDHR, Debo Adeniran, and the National Publicity Secretary, Jeremiah Onyibe, in a statement, noted that those responsible for establishing, promoting, financing or facilitating such agencies, including any collaborators within government, must be identified and, where culpability is established through due process, prosecuted in accordance with the law. The government must also investigate whether public funds, salaries, contracts, grants, property, or other resources were fraudulently obtained or diverted through these entities.

It called on the National Assembly to strengthen oversight, saying: “CDHR calls on the National Assembly to urgently examine how such entities were able to emerge and operate without effective detection.

“Parliamentary oversight of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) must be proactive, continuous and effective rather than reactive. Relevant committees of the National Assembly should summon responsible officials, examine records and establish the institutional failures that allowed fake agencies to exist.”

CDHR further calls on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and other relevant law-enforcement institutions to leave no stone unturned in investigating the matter.

CDHR also demands clear explanations from the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Auditor-General for the Federation, within the limits of their respective mandates.

At the same time, CDHR stresses that allegations must be properly investigated and that no individual should be declared guilty before the conclusion of due process and judicial determination where prosecution is involved.

CDHR therefore called for a comprehensive investigation into all discovered fake and counterfeit agencies, as well as a wider audit of MDAs and government-funded entities to uncover other fraudulent or improperly constituted agencies.