The Nigerian Senate has resolved to probe the federal government’s spending on the humanitarian crisis in the North-East. This comes after several reports from both local and international groups, including the United Nations (UN), that millions of people are in the danger of “extreme malnutrition”. However, some Nigerians are asking if the Senate probe will really contribute meaningfully to solving the humanitarian crisis.

On Tuesday, the Senate leadership announced the constitution of an ad-hoc committee to “unravel the funds already committed to ameliorating the plight of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), and how the fund is being expended by the agencies of government saddled with the responsibility.” The committee will be chaired by Senator Shehu Sani from Kaduna State. “…Notwithstanding the huge budgetary allocation by the National Assembly, and the various releases by the Executive…including significant donations from many donors, the situation on ground is not cheering,” Baba Kaka Bashir Garbai, a senator representing Borno Central said.

In the 2016 budget, the Senate approved a sum of N10 bn for the IDPs, a N4 bn increase from what was allocated to the displaced persons in 2015. Last year, the Deputy Speaker of the lower chamber of the National Assembly, Yussuff Lasun reportedly said about N80 bn had been raised by the Presidential Committee on Boko Haram Victims Support Fund. Obviously, it is difficult to say the problem at the IDP camps is lack of financial support.

In August this year, about 500 IDPs took to the streets of Maiduguri to protest the treatment and conditions they are subjected to their camps. Despite the huge funding garnered for the IDPs, the humanitarian crisis there was left to go on for too long before the senate decided to look into it.

The step taken by the lawmakers is a commendable one. This may not necessarily end the humanitarian crisis at once, but it has the potential of opening serious debates on the perceived unaccountable management of the IDPs by the government, which in turn may be the beginning of an end to the impunity perpetrated by the government officials in charge of the IDPs.