A serving Major General has landed in trouble over his involvement in N4 billion maritime security fund. Impeccable sources told New Telegraph that the serving officer, who once headed one of the task forces in the military, collected the fund from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to upgrade some military facilities in one of the states in South-South.
New Telegraph learnt that the officer had appeared before the presidential panel auditing arms procurement between 2007 and 2015. During his appearance before the panel, the Army General stated that he collected the money to build some structures in a barrack in the South-South. The officer was made to write a detailed statement on the transaction. “The panel made some discoveries while probing funds meant for maritime security. In the process, a Major General was discovered to have collected over N4 billion from NIMASA to handle certain projects in one of the military formations in the South- South, which he headed.
“But from findings, what he spent from the N4 billion he collected was not up to N250 million. So, he has been interrogated by the arms panel and there was no convincing explanation on the utilisation of the huge sum. We strongly believe that he has a case to answer and the officer will definitely be prosecuted in court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He is not alone.
There are other officers that have been implicated in the scandal,” a source familiar with the investigation told New Telegraph. The EFCC is currently probing some senior army officers over the arms scandal.
The military handed over the officers to the anti-graft agency for further investigation over their involvement in the arms scandal. Also, the presidential panel auditing arms procurement may go beyond its earlier briefs, as indications have emerged that the 13-man committee has been mandated by President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate activities of the Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Security (PICOMS). New Telegraph gathered from highly placed sources that Buhari’s directive followed discovery of alleged massive fraud in some contracts and procurements by the committee. It was learnt that the panel will probe the committee’s alleged breach of Procurement Act in the award of some contracts.
“I can confirm that PICOMS is to be probed over possible breach of procurement act in some of its past activities. “You know the whole essence of PICOMS was for maritime security, but I think the president, who has zero tolerance for corruption, has been briefed on possible malfeasance in some areas,” one of the sources spoke in confidence. Former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Badeh, who is standing trial over the arms funds, has been named in alleged N4 billion scam in NIMASA. Meanwhile, some of the Air Vice Marshals who had been held at a military facility in Niger Barracks, Abuja, have since been released. AVM R.A. Ojuawo, AVM O.T. Oguntoyinbo, AVM T. Omenyi and some other senior officers have been kept at the military facility over their alleged involvement in the arms deal.
New Telegraph had exclusively reported their detention at the military facility. A source in the know of the development said the release was not total, as “their passports have been confiscated by authorities, while their movements have been restricted to Abuja.”
The Air Vice Marshals are also expected to regularly report to the authority pending the completion of their investigation by the anti-graft agency. The AVMs were part of the officers indicted by the presidential panel that probed the procurement of arms and equipment for the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) between 2007 and 2015. Some of the officers are on terminal leave and have since been quizzed by the EFCC. During the detention of the AVMs at the Niger Barracks, only their wives and lawyers were allowed access to them.
New Telegraph learnt that the officers will face a court-martial any moment from now, before their trial by the EFCC begins, in the event that a prima facie case is established against them. As is the case in the military, the indicted officers may lose command, should the anticipated trial based on military rule finds them guilty of such offences as may be preferred.
The president had ordered the EFCC to conduct further investigation on the indictment of former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (rtd) as well as ex-Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Adesola Amosu (rtd). While Badeh has since been charged to court and subsequently remanded in Kuje prison pending fulfillment of bail conditions, Amosu remains in the custody of the EFCC, as there are no reports of appearance in court yet.
Apart from Badeh and Amosu, other officers indicted in the second interim report, were: Air Marshal MD Umar (Rtd), Major General ER Chioba (Rtd), AVM IA Balogun (Rtd), AVM AG Tsakr (Rtd), AVM AG Idowu (Rtd), AVM AM Mamu, AVM OT Oguntoyinbo, and AVM T Omenyi. Others were: AVM JB Adigun, AVM RA Ojuawo, AVM JA Kayode- Beckley, Air Cdre SA Yushau (Rtd), Air Cdre AO Ogunjobi, Air Cdre GMD Gwani, Air Cdre SO Makinde, Air Cdre AY Lassa, Col. N Ashinze and Lt Col. MS Dasuki (Rtd).
The decision to probe the officers, according to a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Mallam Garba Shehu, followed the submission of an interim report to Buhari by the presidential panel on audit of arms procurement in the military. Garba said the procurement processes were arbitrarily carried out and generally characterised by
