The
Centre for Infrastructural and Technological Advancement for the Blind CITAB
has expressed profound disappointment, shock, and outright condemnation over
the investigative report by The Punch Newspaper alleging systemic corruption
and bribery within the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs LASODA.
This
was contained in a press release issued in Lagos by Jolomi Fenemigho, Executive
Chairman of CITAB.
CITAB
noted that the report, which details alleged extortion, administrative
roadblocks, and kickback demands targeted at non governmental organisations
NGOs that cater for children with disabilities, paints a devastating picture of
state enabled neglect. According to the report, approvals and support that
should flow directly to children in need are allegedly being processed only
after certain envelopes move in the opposite direction, leaving vulnerable
children to pay the hidden price of official indulgence.
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Fenemigho
described the revelations as a tragic betrayal of trust and a direct assault on
the survival and dignity of persons with disabilities in Lagos State.
According
to him, “It is a moral low and a structural tragedy when an agency explicitly
mandated to protect and uplift the disability community becomes the very
obstacle to their survival. Extorting NGOs that are struggling to keep children
with disabilities alive, educated, and cared for is a crime against humanity.
LASODA was built to be a refuge, not a tollgate, and public servants were not
hired to collect gate fees before compassion can cross the door.”
The
CITAB leader recalled that LASODA was established to implement the Lagos State
Special Peoples Law, guaranteeing equity, access to infrastructure, and welfare
for citizens with disabilities. He said that any practice that allegedly ties
approvals, grants, or access to assistive devices and welfare programmes to
appreciation from NGOs completely invalidates the progressive image Lagos State
claims to project on disability inclusion.
The statement
warned that when corruption penetrates a disability agency, the consequences
for beneficiaries are immediate and physical, noting that for a blind child, a
project quietly stalled on a desk because an NGO declined to play ball can mean
another term out of school, while diverted resources can mean the denial of
basic mobility and digital tools required to participate in society.
In the
light of the situation, CITAB issued a series of firm demands to the Lagos
State Government, calling first for the immediate suspension of LASODA’s
leadership and all implicated officials, and the establishment of an
independent judicial panel of inquiry to investigate the allegations in full.
“We
cannot entrust the investigation of these claims to the same structures accused
of enabling them. Only a transparent, independent judicial process can restore
public confidence and reassure families and NGOs that their cries are being
taken seriously. If there is nothing to hide, then the books, the files, and
the phones should have nothing to fear,” it stated.
CITAB further
urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC and the Independent
Corrupt Practices Commission ICPC to wade in, insisting that any official found
guilty of demanding kickbacks, hoarding aid, or weaponising approvals against
NGOs must face the full weight of the law.
Fenemigho
also called for the total digitization and automation of LASODA’s aid and
resource distribution processes. He demanded an open, accessible digital portal
where NGOs and individuals can submit applications, track approvals, and view
disbursements in real time, so that favour no longer determines whose file
moves and whose gathers dust.
The
CITAB boss stressed the need for civil society oversight, calling for
independent, certified non governmental organisations within the disability
community to be formally included in monitoring the allocation of disability
resources and auditing LASODA’s operations.
According
to him, “Every naira diverted through kickbacks or blocked approvals is a naira
stolen from mobility tools, therapy, education, and rehabilitation for our
children. When an agency created to protect us is accused of turning NGO
partnerships into a cash and carry arrangement, Lagosians must ask: who is
really being served, the public or private appetites”
Fenemigho
expressed CITAB’s unwavering solidarity with the NGOs and the families
allegedly victimised by systemic extortion and administrative abuse, pledging
that the organisation will not remain silent while resources meant to give
children with disabilities a fighting chance at life are converted into returns
on investment for a few well placed officials.
He
called on the Lagos State Government to clean up LASODA without delay through
an independent judicial investigation, criminal prosecution where warranted,
full digitization and public transparency of aid processes, and structured
civil society oversight. He stressed that the disability community deserves
accountability, dignity, and justice, not exploitation, adding that Nothing
About Us Without Us must guide every policy and naira spent in their name.
