Ex Army Chiefs, Ihejirika and Minima
In a statement released by AVM Jon Ode (rtd.), Chairman of the
Presidential Committee on the Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement in
the Armed Forces, in Abuja on Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari has
ordered the probe of two former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Azubuike
Ihejirika and Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah.
According to a report on Punch Newspaper,
the two former generals are among 54 persons to be investigated for
their roles in the arms scandals that saw billions of dollars meant for
the procurement of arms for the Nigerian military for the prosecution of
the war against Boko Haram diverted to private pockets.
President Muhammadu Buhari's order followed the approval of the
recommendation of the committee charged with investigating the Defence
Equipment Procurement from 2007 to 2015, for further investigation of
those involved after the committee found a number of irregularities in
the contract awards.
Jon Ode said in the statement that the approval followed the Third
Interim Report of the Presidential Committee on the Audit of Defence
Equipment, which was released on Thursday.
Among those to be investigated are 18 serving and retired military
personnel, 12 serving and retired public officials and 24 Chief
Executive Officers of companies involved in the procurement.
Others listed for probe included a former Minister of State for
Foreign Affairs II, Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed, and three former Permanent
Secretaries in the Ministry of Defence – Mr. Bukar Goni Aji, Mr. Haruna
Sanusi and Mr. E.O. Oyemomi.
Also, the Chief Executive Officers to be investigated include Col.
Olu Bamgbose (retd.) of Bamverde Limited; Mr. Amity Sade of Doiyatec
Comms Nigeria Ltd.; DYI Global Services and Mr. Edward Churchill of
Westgate Global Trust Ltd.
The committee report said, “As an example, three contracts with
a total value of N5,940,000,000.00 were awarded to DYI Global Services
Ltd. and Doiyatec Comms Nigeria Limited (owned by the same individuals)
for the procurement of military hardware including 20 units of KM-38
Twin Hull Boats and six units of 4X4 Ambulances fitted with radios."
The committee found that the two companies collected
N5,103,500,000.00, representing 86 per cent of the total value of the
three contracts worth N5,940,000,000.00, but only performed to the tune
of N2,992,183,705.31.
"In this regard, a review of the procurement carried out by
Chok Ventures Ltd. and Integrated Equipment Services Ltd. established
that between March 2011 and December 2013, the two companies exclusively
procured various types of Toyota and Mitsubishi vehicles worth over
N3bn for the Nigerian Army without any competitive bidding.
"Though the committee found no credible evidence of delivery of
the vehicles, the vendors were fully paid based on job completion
certificate authenticated by the then Chief of Logistics. Also, the
analysis of the various bank accounts of the two companies showed
transfers to individuals related to then Chief of Army Staff."
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