Feminist Coalition has reacted to allegations of ‘secretly’ transferring $51,000 (N23m) worth of bitcoin from donations received during #EndSARS protest that rocked Nigeria last October, into another wallet.
Since the early hours of today, the not-for-profit organisation has been trending on Twitter following the allegations, with many Nigerians calling them out to provide an explanation.
Feminist Coalition was very instrumental during the demonstrations in October 2020 as the organisation was in the forefront of receiving and allocating funds received from donors worldwide.
Through crowdfunding, the protest received over #147 million in cash and bitcoins from all over the world, which Feminist Coalition as an organisation coordinated to help purchase medical supplies, provide legal aids, food, relief and other necessary supplies for #EndSARS protesters.
Reacting to the development few hours later, Feminist Coalition released a statement detailing how it has disbursed funds since October 2020 when #EndSARS protest held nationwide.
After the organisation stopped receiving donations on October 23, 2020, Feminist Coalition gave a summary of the total funds it had received and disbursed during the course of the protest.
The group said it received a total of N14,855,788.28 and a total of N60,403,235.00 had been disbursed, leaving a total of N87,452,553.28.
Feminist Coalition also gave a breakdown of how the remaining funds would be disbursed. It said the remaining funds would be channeled through #EndSARSresponse (Medical), Legal Aid Network, Relief for victims of police brutality and families of the deceased, Memorial for the fallen, and #EndSARSMentalHealthSupport.
Read Also: #EndSARS: Feminist Coalition Stops Receiving Donations, Urges Protesters To Observe Curfew
A statement from The Feminist Coalition. March 12th, 2021. #FemCo #FeministCo pic.twitter.com/KeffGwPIxG
— feministcoalition (@feminist_co) March 12, 2021
Giving an explanation about the Bitcoin transaction that they were accused of making, Feminist Coalition confirmed that there was a transfer of Bitcoin from its wallet to another one.
It however said the transaction was initiated on November 16, 2020 from the donation wallet address but was only just confirmed on March 5, 2021.
Feminist Coalition added that the transaction was part of a sale of 7.21958757 BTC for NGN 57,590,000 with a third party.
The organisation stated that it received the proceeds of the sale between November 16th and December 1st 2020.
Explaining why there was a delay in the confirmation of a transaction made in November, Feminist Coalition said it was due to the meagre Bitcoin network fees chosen, stressing;
People with knowledge of cryptocurrency transactions understand that this is not uncommon. The Bitcoin network has been clogged for the last few months.
We chose to use the cheapest fees possible to ensure we spent the maximum possible donations towards our mission, rather than operating expenses/transaction fees.
#FemCo #FeministCo pic.twitter.com/JY8W8pQHuy
— feministcoalition (@feminist_co) March 12, 2021
— feministcoalition (@feminist_co) March 12, 2021
Sharing screenshots of transactions, Feminist Coalition said the blockchain trail gives credence to their transparent use of funds.
It added;
Understanding that the public is still new to cryptocurrency nuances and blockchain technology makes it incumbent on us to provide this clarification.
The organisation added that report of an audit committee will be publicly available within eight weeks, with independent external auditors’ endorsement.
