Fresh Trouble For Taraba SEMA Boss As ₦49.4 Million Transactions Raise Questions

Fresh questions have emerged over a series of financial transactions involving the Executive Secretary of the Taraba State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Dr. Echuseh Audu, and accounts linked to Katuka’s Kitchen, a business reportedly associated with her.

According to Bush Radio Academy, a review of financial records cited in the report showed listed inflows totalling ₦49.44 million into accounts connected to Katuka’s Kitchen and Audu. One of the transactions that has attracted attention involved ₦12.19 million transferred from the Taraba State Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (LPRES) Draw Down Account to an account belonging to Katuka’s Kitchen.

The transaction, dated October 28, 2025, reportedly involved ₦12,190,726.80 being transferred from the LPRES account at Zenith Bank to a Zenith Bank account belonging to Katuka’s Kitchen. The same amount was subsequently transferred back to the LPRES account.

The transaction has prompted questions because LPRES is a World Bank-supported project, although the financial records alone do not establish whether the payment was connected to a contract, reimbursement, reversal or another legitimate financial arrangement.

Other listed inflows reportedly included ₦15 million transferred on May 10, 2024, from an account bearing Audu Echuseh Echuseh’s name at UBA; ₦7 million transferred on August 16, 2024, from a Fidelity Bank account belonging to Katuka’s Kitchen; ₦5.25 million recorded on January 30, 2026, from an account belonging to Sunday Stephen at Globus Bank; ₦5,000,020 recorded on February 25, 2026, from an account identified as belonging to Callistus Obiejezie; and another ₦5 million from an account bearing Audu Echuseh’s name at UBA. Together with the LPRES transaction, the listed inflows amounted to ₦49,440,746.80.

The records also reportedly contained three substantial payments to Nizamiye Hospital in Abuja. The first payment of ₦15 million was allegedly made on February 20, 2026, followed by another ₦14 million six days later. A third payment of ₦15 million was also listed, bringing the reported total to ₦44 million.

However, individuals close to Audu reportedly told the publication that Nizamiye Hospital confirmed the funds were used to treat a young girl who later died.

Other transactions cited in the records included a reported ₦7.4 million transfer on February 9, 2026, to Abdulganiyyu Ali Uba at GTBank, as well as a ₦5 million transfer on January 20, 2026, from an account bearing Audu Echuseh’s name to another account bearing the same name. A further ₦6.2 million transaction involving an account identified as 8064303532 and Abdulganiyyu Ali Uba was reportedly recorded on September 2, 2025.

Attention has also been drawn to Katuka’s Kitchen, which reportedly appears under multiple bank accounts with Access Bank, Globus Bank and Fidelity Bank. A source cited in the report claimed that Audu had resigned from the business at the Corporate Affairs Commission but alleged that her Bank Verification Number remained connected to one of its accounts. However, the available records did not independently establish whether she retained control of the accounts after the alleged resignation.

The latest financial questions come against the backdrop of earlier allegations concerning the alleged diversion of relief materials intended for vulnerable residents and internally displaced persons in Taraba State. Claims circulated that more than 10,000 bags of rice and over 1,000 cartons of groundnut oil had been diverted and sold outside the state, although no publicly verifiable evidence had been presented to substantiate those specific claims at the time of the report.

Audu previously denied the allegations and voluntarily presented herself to security and investigative authorities, including the police, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Special Adviser on Security to the Taraba State Governor and the state Ministry of Justice. She reportedly requested that the allegations be investigated to establish the facts.

SEMA has also maintained that it is committed to transparency and accountability in the distribution of relief materials. In March 2026, the agency said more than 50,000 victims had benefited from its interventions and that its activities were focused on effective service delivery and proper distribution of relief items.

The financial records have consequently generated separate questions surrounding the reported ₦12.19 million LPRES transaction, the ₦49.44 million in listed inflows and the ₦44 million payments to Nizamiye Hospital. The transactions themselves do not, without further evidence, establish that any wrongdoing occurred.

The report said attempts were made to obtain a response from Audu regarding the financial transactions and allegations, but she reportedly did not answer calls or respond to a message before publication.