Iraq audit report says Dhi Qar police chief hired six relatives as contract officers

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's Federal Board of Audit has published a report finding that Dhi Qar Police Commander Maj. Gen. Nijah al-Abidi recruited six of his relatives from Najaf as contract police officers. According to the audit, prepared by the Seventh Regional Inspectorate Unit, the Interior Ministry's Police Affairs Division issued new contracts to replace seven officers who had left service. The report said all six of the newly contracted officers were registered as residents of the Hira, Mishkhab, Manadira and Razwiya districts in Najaf and were not listed in the Dhi Qar population registry. Auditors found that the appointments violated the relevant article of the Federal General Budget Law, which requires contract allocations to reflect each province's population share, and that the hires were not drawn from the reserve lists prepared for Dhi Qar's assigned quotas. Sources cited in the report said the six contractors were cousins of al-Abidi and that the appointments were carried out in a manner that bypassed competition and transparency requirements. Federal Board of Audit head Asad Khalil Lazim ordered the Interior Ministry to investigate the matter and report its findings to the board within 90 days. No further details were immediately available on whether any of the contracts have been suspended pending the inquiry.