President Muhammdu Buhari Tuesday night ordered the arrest of former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), for siphoning billions of dollars earmarked for arms purchases.
In ordering the arrest, President Buhari observed that the actions of the erstwhile NSA brought the nation to international ridicule as the failure to procure the arms incapacitated the military in the face of the insurgency orchestrated by Boko Haram sect.
The order was also extended to several others who were found culpable in the saga.
The development followed the release of the interim report by the presidential committee investigating arms procurement.
The president on August 31 set up the 13-man committee to audit the procurement of arms and equipment in the Armed Forces and Defence sector from 2007 to date.
A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said that Dasuki expended $2,193,815,000.83 on arms, a figure which did not include grants received by the police and Department of State Services (DSS) from foreign governments.
The statement reads: “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 N643,817,955,885.18.
“The foreign currency component is to the tune of $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 for $8,356,525,184.32; N2,189,265,724,404.55 and €54,000; 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 N3,850,000,000 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. 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.”
Adesina added that the former NSA also directed the Central Bank of Nigeria to transfer a certain amount to accounts domiciled in the United Kingdom and the United States.
“Additionally, it was discovered that the former NSA directed the Central Bank of Nigeria to transfer $132,050,486.97 and €9,905,473.55 to the accounts of Societe D’equipment 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 said.
-Vanguard