The House of Representatives has given the Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dennis Otuaro, a strict 72-hour deadline to appear before its Public Accounts Committee on Tuesday, December 9, 2025. He is expected to address serious audit queries involving over ₦26 billion.
The committee warned that if Otuaro fails to show up as directed, it will issue a warrant for his arrest.
This action follows his repeated refusal to honour six different invitations from the committee.
During Thursday’s public hearing at the National Assembly, Hon. Dominic Okafor moved a motion calling for Otuaro’s arrest, which was immediately supported by Aliyu Missau.
Audit Findings Under Review
According to the Auditor-General’s report, the Amnesty Programme is being accused of multiple financial violations, including:
Breaching the Federal Government’s e-payment policy on transactions totalling ₦17.6bn
Spending ₦3.6bn without internal audit checks
Paying ₦1.5bn in tuition fees without receipts or supporting documents
Circumventing procurement procedures
Issuing cash advances above approved limits, totalling ₦1.2bn
Other irregular or undocumented payments
Committee’s Position
Committee Chairman, Bamidele Salam, said Otuaro and other senior PAP officials must appear to defend the allegations or face the full weight of the law.
The Presidential Amnesty Programme—set up to rehabilitate and reintegrate former Niger Delta militants—has been repeatedly flagged by auditors for poor financial controls.
In the 2021 audit report, the Office of the Auditor-General noted that over ₦1.53bn in tuition fees was paid without proof that the supposed students even existed. It also pointed out ₦3.62bn spent with no internal audit verification.
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Next Steps
The audit report recommends that:
PAP must justify the questionable payments
Any mismanaged funds should be recovered and returned to the national treasury
Evidence of such refunds must be submitted to the National Assembly’s oversight committees
If Otuaro fails to appear by Tuesday, the House has made it clear that the law will be enforced.
