President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the immediate arrest of former NSA boss, Sambo Dasuki , and others following findings by the 13...
President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the immediate arrest of former NSA boss, Sambo Dasuki, and others following findings by the 13-man committee set up by the Office of the National Security Adviser to audit the procurement of arms and equipment for the Armed Forces and Defence sector from 2007 to date.
He gave the order on Tuesday (yesterday) night.
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| Wanted: Sambo Dasuki |
In a statement signed by Femi Adesina, President Buhari's special adviser on Media and Publicity, the Presidency said, though the committee which was set up on August 31, 2015 is yet to complete its work, its interim report has revealed gross siphoning of billions of dollars earmarked for arms purchases and fraudulent financial transactions.
The statement read:
“As part of the findings, the committee has analyzed interventions
from some organizations that provided funds to the Office of the
National Security Adviser, Defence Headquarters, Army Headquarters,
Naval Headquarters, and Nigerian Air Force Headquarters, both in local
and foreign currencies.
“So far the total extra budgetary interventions articulated by the
committee is Six Hundred and Forty Three Billion, Eight Hundred and
Seventeen Million, Nine Hundred and Fifty Thousand, Eight Hundred and
Eighty Five Hundred Naira and Eighteen Kobo (N643,817,955,885.18).
“The foreign currency component is to the tune of Two Billion, One
Hundred and Ninety Three Million, Eight Hundred and Fifteen Thousand US
Dollars and Eighty Three Cents ($2,193,815,000.83).
“These amounts exclude grants from the state governments and funds
collected by the DSS and Police. It was observed that in spite of this
huge financial intervention, very little was expended to support defence
procurement.
“The committee also observed that of 513 contracts awarded at
$8,356,525,184.32; N2,189,265,724,404.55 and €54,000.00; Fifty Three
(53) were failed contracts amounting to $2,378,939,066.27 and
N13,729,342,329.87 respectively.
“Interestingly, it was noted that the amount of foreign currency
spent on failed contracts was more than double the $1bn loan that the
National Assembly approved for borrowing to fight the insurgency in the
North East. “The committee also discovered that payments to the tune of
Three Billion, Eight Hundred and Fifty Million Naira
(N3,850,000,000.00) were made to a single company by the former NSA
without documented evidence of contractual agreements or fulfilment of
tax obligations to the federal goverment.
“Further findings revealed that between March 2012 and March 2015,
the erstwhile NSA, Lt Col MS Dasuki (rtd) awarded fictitious and phantom
contracts to the tune of N2,219,188,609.50, $1,671,742,613.58 and
€9,905,477.00. The contracts which were said to be for the purchase of
four Alpha Jets, 12 helicopters, bombs and ammunition were not executed
and the equipment were never supplied to the Nigerian Air Force, neither
are they in its inventory.
“Even more disturbing was the discovery that out of these figures,
two companies were awarded contracts to the tune of N350,000,000.00,
$1,661,670,469.71 and €9,905,477.00 alone. This was without prejudice to
the consistent non-performance of the companies in the previous
contracts awarded.”
“Additionally,
it was discovered that the former NSA directed the Central Bank of
Nigeria to transfer the sum of $132,050,486.97 and €9,905,473.55 to the
accounts of Societe D’equipmente Internationaux in West Africa, United
Kingdom and United States of America for un-ascertained purposes,
without any contract documents to explain the transactions.
“The findings made so far are extremely worrying considering that the
interventions were granted within the same period that our troops
fighting the insurgency in the North East were in desperate need of
platforms, military equipment and ammunition. Had the funds siphoned to
these non performing companies been properly used for the purpose they
were meant for, thousands of needless Nigerian deaths would have been
avoided.
“Furthermore, the ridicule Nigeria has faced in the international
community would have been avoided. It is worrisome and disappointing
that those entrusted with the security of this great nation were busy
using proxies to siphon the national treasury, while innocent lives were
wasted daily.
“In light of these findings, President Muhammadu Buhari has directed
that the relevant organizations arrest and bring to book, all
individuals who have been found complicit in these illegal and
fraudulent acts”, the statement submitted.
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