The Executive Secretary of the Taraba State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Dr. Echuseh Audu, has come under scrutiny over financial transactions linked to a business associated with her, including payments totalling ₦44 million to a Hospital in Abuja and transactions involving the Taraba State Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (LPRES) Drawdown Account.
The development comes amid continuing public interest in allegations concerning the diversion of relief materials, including rice and groundnut oil, meant for vulnerable residents of Taraba State.
Dr. Audu had previously voluntarily presented herself to security agencies after allegations surfaced on social media claiming that rice and groundnut oil meant for vulnerable Taraba residents had been diverted.
She denied the allegations and called for an investigation to establish the truth.
However, financial records obtained by SaharaReporters and reviewed alongside information show a series of transactions involving accounts associated with Dr. Audu and Katuka’s Kitchen, a registered business name that appears in the records.
According to a source, “She has resigned from the Katuka Kitchen on CAC but her BVN is still linked to the Katuka Kitchen. Meaning she has resigned on paper but refused to remove herself from the bank account.”
The records raise questions about the movement of millions of naira through accounts associated with the business and about payments made to Nizamiye Hospital in Abuja.
One of the transactions reflected in the documents reviewed shows that on October 28, 2025, the Taraba State LPRES Draw Down Account at Zenith Bank, with account number 1228758432, transferred ₦12,190,726.80 to Katuka’s Kitchen, with Zenith Bank account number 1224718656.
According to the same records, the exact amount of ₦12,190,726.80 was subsequently transferred back to the same LPRES Draw Down Account.
“As a public office holder, contract is not supposed to be awarded to a company she has a tie with. But if you check the transactions, you will see that Taraba LPress, a World Bank project paid N12million to her.
The financial records reviewed show several substantial inflows involving Katuka’s Kitchen and accounts associated with Dr. Echuseh Audu.
On May 10, 2024, an amount of ₦15million was transferred from account number 1021531544, bearing the name Audu Echuseh Echuseh and held with UBA Bank.
On August 16, 2024, ₦7million was recorded from account number 5600910015, belonging to Katuka’s Kitchen at Fidelity Bank.
On October 28, 2025, ₦12,190,726.80 was recorded from account number 1228758432, belonging to the Taraba State LPRES Draw Down Account at Zenith Bank.
On January 30, 2026, ₦5.25million was recorded from account number 0000061117, belonging to Sunday Stephen at Globus Bank.
On February 25, 2026, ₦5,000,020 was recorded from account number 6579025652, with the account holder identified in the records as Callistus Obiejezie.
The records also show another ₦5 million from account number 1021531544, bearing the name Audu Echuseh at UBA Bank, although no date is indicated for that transaction.
The recorded inflows amount to ₦49,440,746.80.
The records also contain three substantial payments to Nizamiye Hospital in Abuja.
On February 20, 2026, ₦15 million was transferred to Nizamiye Hospital’s GTBank account number 0174646951.
Six days later, on February 26, 2026, another ₦14 million was transferred to the same account.
A further ₦15 million payment to the same Nizamiye Hospital account is also recorded, although the date of that transaction is not indicated in the documents reviewed.
The three payments total ₦44 million.
However, sources close to Dr. Audu told SaharaReporters that Nizamiye Hospital, Abuja, confirmed that the payments were for a young girl who had unfortunately died.
The documents also show other significant outflows from accounts associated with the transactions under review.
On February 9, 2026, ₦7.4million was transferred from account number 0048950650 to Abdulganiyyu Ali Uba at GTBank.
On January 20, 2026, ₦5million was transferred from account number 1021531544 to Audu Echuseh at UBA Bank.
On September 2, 2025, ₦6.2million was transferred from account number 8064303532 to Abdulganiyyu Ali Uba at GTBank.
The records also show the ₦12,190,726.80 transaction dated October 28, 2025, involving the Taraba State LPRES Draw Down Account and the corresponding movement involving Katuka’s Kitchen.
Another issue requiring clarification concerns Katuka’s Kitchen, which appears in the documents as a registered business name.
The records contain multiple accounts bearing the name Katuka’s Kitchen, including accounts with Access Bank, Globus Bank and Fidelity Bank.
The records also show a ₦5.25 million inflow from Sunday Stephen’s account number 0000061117 at Globus Bank.
Sources noted that allegations have circulated publicly concerning Sunday Stephen in relation to investment-related complaints.
The documents reviewed also list multiple accounts associated with Dr. Echuseh Audu and Katuka’s Kitchen.
They include account number 26075458 in the name Audu, Echuseh Dodo at GTBank; account number 3017438415 in the name Audu Echuseh at First Bank; and account number 1014706315 in the name Salma Women Alliance MPCS at Zenith Bank.
The records also list account number 1005906892 in the name Echuseh Dodo Audu at Zenith Bank, account number 1022538777 in the name Nigerian Medical Association NMA MPCS Ltd, Jalingo, at UBA Bank, and account number 1024091858 in the name Echuseh Audu at UBA Bank.
Other listed accounts include account number 2039414177 in the name Audu Echuseh at First Bank, account number 3170137881 in the name Audu Echuseh at Ecobank, and account number 1509998159 in the name Katuka’s Kitchen at Access Bank.
The records further identify account number 251574020 in the name Echuseh Echuseh Audu at NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, account number 1000156191 in the name Katuka’s Kitchen SS Office at Globus Bank, and account number 1000156201 in the name Katuka’s Kitchen Airport at Globus Bank.
Account number 5600910015 in the name Katuka’s Kitchen at Fidelity Bank is also listed, alongside account number 803617485 in the name Echuseh Audu at Globus Bank.
The remaining accounts listed include account number 2000113780 and account number 2000115748, both in the name Audu Echuseh at Taraba Savings & Loans Ltd, as well as account number 1465299869 and account number 9503224662, both in the name Audu Echuseh at FairMoney Microfinance Bank.
Meanwhile, the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which contains the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, places restrictions on public officers placing themselves in situations where personal interests conflict with official responsibilities.
Section 57 of the Public Procurement Act 2007 also contains provisions concerning conflicts of interest involving public officers participating in procurement processes.
Sources told SaharaReporters that some of Taraba State’s poorest residents depend heavily on relief materials during emergencies.
The allegations concerning rice and groundnut oil therefore generated concern because emergency relief supplies are intended to assist vulnerable people who may have limited alternatives during periods of crisis.
Dr. Audu previously denied allegations that such materials were diverted and voluntarily presented herself to security agencies, calling for an investigation to establish the truth.
The latest financial records introduce a separate set of questions concerning the movement of funds through accounts associated with Katuka’s Kitchen and Dr. Audu.
Of particular interest are the ₦12,190,726.80 transaction involving the Taraba State LPRES Draw Down Account, the recorded inflows totalling ₦49,440,746.80, the ₦44 million paid to Nizamiye Hospital, and other substantial transactions reflected in the documents.
When allegations arise concerning emergency relief supplies, public confidence depends on a transparent investigation capable of establishing what happened, who authorised relevant transactions, where public funds went and whether the law was followed.
Sources told SaharaReporters that in this case, the public deserves clear answers concerning the LPRES transactions involving Katuka’s Kitchen, the large financial movements reflected in the records, the payments totalling ₦44million to Nizamiye Hospital and the circumstances surrounding any government-related transactions involving the business.
When SaharaReporters contacted Audu for a reaction, she did not answer her phone calls or respond to the message sent to her as of the time of filing this report.
On March 2026, SaharaReporters reported that Audu has voluntarily presented herself to security and investigative authorities for scrutiny following allegations circulated in a Facebook post accusing the agency of diverting relief materials.
According to reports, Audu reported to multiple agencies, including the police, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Special Adviser on Security to the Taraba State Governor, and the state Ministry of Justice, requesting a comprehensive investigation into the claims.
The allegations, which originated on Facebook and later spread across social media platforms, claimed that more than 10,000 bags of rice and over 1000 cartons of groundnut oil meant for internally displaced persons and other vulnerable groups were diverted and sold outside the state.
However, no verifiable evidence has been publicly presented to support the accusations.
(SaharaReporters)