1 million dollars Buried in sewage tank by Nigerian Air Force, Chief Amosu |
Investigations by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC),
also revealed that his wife, Mrs. Lara Amosu was picked up by the EFCC
operatives last week in Abuja.
According to New Telegraph, Mrs. Amosu’s arrest followed the alleged
discovery of about N3 billion in her bank accounts. She was allegedly
holding the money in trust for her husband.
Other properties traced to the former CAS were also being held in the names of his wife and children.
Mrs Amosun has been in the custody of the EFCC in Lagos for the past one
week. It was learnt that her lawyer has been battling without success
to get her released.
Amosu was arrested two weeks ago by the EFCC over his involvement in the
arms scandal. Shortly after Amosu was picked up in Abuja, his wife,
Lara, was subsequently arrested.
Investigations conducted showed that some of the monies the former Chief
of Air Staff made through some contracts and procurements in NAF were
traced to his wife’s accounts.
A source familiar with the investigation told New Telegraph that N13
billion was traced to the bank accounts of a wife of a retired Air Vice
Marshal, who held strategic position in the Nigeria Air Force (NAF).
In the bank accounts of another wife of a serving senior officer, N1.5
billion was found. New Telegraph learnt that the officers handled the
finance, budget and accounts of NAF.
“About N3 billion was traced to the wife’s accounts while some assets
acquired by the former service chief was in her name and some others in
her company’s name.
“So, Lara is an accessory to a crime. The proceeds with her are from the
arms funds. As we prosecute her husband, she must also be held
accountable,” a source told New Telegraph.
New Telegraph had reported that the EFCC discovered N17.5 billion in the
accounts of wives of three Airforce chiefs. The monies were scattered
in various banks accounts.
It was further learnt that the wife of Air Vice Marshal J.B. Adigun,
Chief of Account and Budget of NAF, has travelled out of the country two
weeks ago, shortly after the arrest of her husband. The hurried trip
was said to have become necessary in the face of the arms probe.
Adigun has been indicted by the presidential arms panel. He is in the
EFCC custody. Several of his properties in Lagos and Abuja have been
seized by the anti-graft agency. Billions of naira was said to have been
traced to Adigun’s wife’s accounts.
New Telegraph has also learnt that the EFCC retrieved $1 million cash in
Amosu’s residence in his residence in Badagary, Lagos. A source told
New Telegraph that the money, in foreign currency, was retrieved when
EFCC operatives carried out a search on Amosu’s residence in Badagry.
According to the source: “In continuation of the investigation into the
arms probe, the EFCC operatives took Amosu to his residence in Badagry.
After a thorough search of the residence, a fresh small ‘soakaway’ pit
was discovered in the compound. The operatives suspected foul play,
which informed the breaking of the ‘soakaway’. Surprisingly, $1 million
was found in it. The money was subsequently confiscated.”
New Telegraph also learnt that Air Commodore Akinwale (rtd) who manages
the St. Solomon Health Care Limited, an ultra-modern diagnostic centre
owned by Amosu, along Adeniyi Jones Avenue in Ikeja, Lagos is still in
the custody of the EFCC. The retired Airforce officer oversees the
medical centre on behalf of Amosu.
The diagnostic centre has been sealed off by the anti-graft agency.
Meanwhile, the EFCC is still keeping Amosu, Adigun, and Air Commodore O.
Gbadebo in Lagos.
A source said that the anti-graft agency has been taking the indicted
officers to assets traced to them, considered to have been acquired
through funds illegally realised from the arms procurement. Some of the
identified properties have been sealed off.
Amosu, Adigun and Gbadebo were arrested two weeks ago in Abuja.
Impeccable sources told New Telegraph that the trio were flown into
Lagos in an Airforce aircraft on a Sunday and discreetly kept in a
hotel.
The arrest and interrogation of Amosu is coming after New Telegraph had
exclusively reported in the November 30, 2015 edition, that the Federal
Government had directed the EFCC to prosecute the ex-CAS.
Amosu, Adigun, Gbadebo and other indicted officers are being
investigated over 10 NAF contracts totalling $930,500,690 awarded to
Societe D’ Equipments Internationaux (SEI) Nig Ltd. between January 2014
and February 2015.
The award letters, according to the arms probe panel, contained
misleading delivery dates, suggesting fraudulent intent in the award
process.
Operatives are also grilling the ex-chief of army staff and the two
senior officers over the procurement of two used Mi-24V Helicopters
instead of the recommended Mi- 35M series at the cost of $136,944,000.
The helicopters were discovered to be excessively priced and not
operationally airworthy at the time of delivery.
The arms probe panel established that a brand new unit of Mi-24V
Helicopter goes for about $30 million. The helicopters were delivered
without rotor blades and upgrade accessories.
The three of them are also being grilled over the procurement of four
used Alpha-Jets for the NAF at the cost of $7,180,000. Whereas NAF paid
for four used Alpha-Jets, the panel confirmed that only two of the
Alpha-Jet aircraft were ferried to Nigeria after cannibalisation of
engines from the NAF fleet.
They are also being investigated in the procurement of 36D6 Low Level
Air Defence Radar for NAF, which was awarded to GAT Techno Dynamics Ltd
in April 2014 at the cost of $33 million under his watch.
The arms panel averred that the radars were excessively priced as a complete set of such radars goes for $6 million.
Acting on the recommendations made by the 13-man presidential committee
auditing arms procurement between 2007 and 2015, President Muhammadu
Buhari, had ordered the EFCC to conduct further investigation on the
indictment of Amosu, former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief
Marshal Alex Badeh (rtd); Air Marshal M.D. Umar (Rtd), Maj- Gen. ER
Chioba (Rtd), AVM I.A. Balogun (Rtd), AVM A.G. Tsakr (Rtd), AVM A.G.
Idowu (Rtd), AVM AM Mamu, AVM O.T Oguntoyinbo, and AVM T Omenyi. Others
were: AVM J.B. Adigun, AVM R.A. Ojuawo, AVM JA Kayode-Beckley, Air Cdre
S.A. Yushau (Rtd), Air Cdre A.O. Ogunjobi, Air Cdre G.M.D. Gwani, Air
Cdre SO Makinde, Air Cdre A.Y. Lassa, Col. N. Ashinze and Lt Col. M.S.
Dasuki (Rtd). Badeh had been in the custody of EFCC since Monday. Over
N29 billion and $2 billion had been expended on the Nigerian Air Force
(NAF) procurement activities alone between 2007 and 2015.
Similarly, the Nigerian Army has announced that it has sent names of 12
top officers to EFCC for investigation and possible prosecution.
They comprise of “3 serving Major Generals, and one retired, 3 Brigadier
Generals, 4 Colonels and 1 Lieutenant Colonel,” Acting Director of Army
Public Relations, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, said. He disclosed in a
statement that “at the end of the Commission’s investigations those
found culpable will be tried by a Military Court Martial.”
Col. Usman did not disclose the names of those involved.
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