Taraba State Emergency Management Agency (TSEMA), Dr. Echuseh Audu.
Taraba Integrity Network has challenged SaharaReporters to provide documentary evidence to support its report alleging financial misconduct against the Executive Secretary of the Taraba State Emergency Management Agency (TSEMA), Dr. Echuseh Audu.
The group said the financial transactions mentioned in the report did not prove that Dr. Audu diverted relief materials or misused public funds.
In a statement signed by its Public Relations Officer, Mohammed Umar, the organisation argued that allegations of fraud must be backed by credible evidence and not assumptions.
The group particularly disputed the claim that N44 million paid to Nizamiye Hospital in Abuja was used for the treatment of Dr. Audu’s alleged daughter.
According to the statement, the deceased was not Dr. Audu’s daughter, and it challenged SaharaReporters to publish hospital records, birth records or any other documents proving the alleged relationship.
It also questioned how the hospital payment was connected to allegations of diverted TSEMA relief materials, asking for evidence showing that proceeds from any alleged diversion funded the medical expenses.
The organisation further referred to a N12.19 million transaction involving the Taraba LPRES Draw Down Account and Katuka’s Kitchen, noting that the exact amount was later returned to the government account.
It said the transaction alone did not establish wrongdoing and asked whether it was a contract payment, reimbursement, mistaken transfer or another transaction that was eventually reversed.
The group also rejected the report’s aggregation of different financial transactions into N49.44 million, saying combining personal, business and government-related transactions did not automatically prove they were part of one fraudulent scheme.
According to the statement, an inflow into an account does not automatically mean government money was diverted or that fraud had taken place.
The organisation also questioned the significance attached to Dr. Audu’s alleged Bank Verification Number (BVN) connection to Katuka’s Kitchen, saying such a link alone could not prove that she continued to control the company’s account after reportedly leaving the business.
It challenged SaharaReporters to produce bank mandates, signatory records and transaction authorisations if it intended to establish continued control of the account.
The group further maintained that the earlier allegations of diversion of TSEMA relief materials had not been confirmed through investigations or court proceedings and should therefore remain allegations until proven.
It said the people of Taraba deserved accountability, transparency and accurate reporting, while cautioning against what it described as “trial by headline.”
The statement followed a SaharaReporters publication that alleged suspicious financial transactions involving Dr. Audu and linked them to the alleged diversion of relief materials managed by the Taraba State Emergency Management Agency. The allegations have continued to generate public debate, while no court has reached a decision on the claims.
