The president ordered Dasuki’s arrest after receiving the report of a 13-man committee set up by the Office of the National Security Adviser to audit the procurement of arms and equipment in the Armed Forces and Defence sector from 2007 to date.
The committee's report had unearthed several illicit and fraudulent financial transactions...
The report indicted Dasuki as being complicit in illegal financial deals. Consequently, Buhari ordered the arrest of the former security chief and all individuals found complicit in the fraudulent acts.
A statement issued by Buhari's special adviser on media, Femi Adesina, noted that, as part of the findings, the committee had analysed interventions from some organisations 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.
The statement read in part: “So far the total extra budgetary interventions articulated by the committee is N643,817,955,885.18 (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.
“The foreign currency component is to the tune of $2,193,815,000.83 (two billion, one hundred and ninety three million, eight hundred and fifteen thousand us dollars and eighty three cents. These add up to N1.112 trillion."
Adesina said these amounts exclude grants from the state governments and funds collected by the DSS and Police. He also observed that in spite of this huge financial intervention, very little was expended.
“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, 53 were failed contracts amounting to $2,378,939,066.27 and N13,729,342,329.87 respectively.”
He also 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 N3,850,000,000.00 (three billion, eight hundred and fifty million naira) were made to a single company by the former NSA without documented evidence of contractual agreements or fulfilment of tax obligations to the federal government of Nigeria.
“Further findings revealed that between March 2012 and March 2015, the former NSA, Lt-Col M.S. 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.”
Adesina said 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, UK and USA, 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..."
“In light of these findings, President Muhammadu Buhari has directed that the relevant organisations arrest and bring to book all individuals who have been found complicit in these illegal and fraudulent acts.”
He also 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 N3,850,000,000.00 (three billion, eight hundred and fifty million naira) were made to a single company by the former NSA without documented evidence of contractual agreements or fulfilment of tax obligations to the federal government of Nigeria.
“Further findings revealed that between March 2012 and March 2015, the former NSA, Lt-Col M.S. 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.”
Adesina said 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, UK and USA, 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..."
“In light of these findings, President Muhammadu Buhari has directed that the relevant organisations arrest and bring to book all individuals who have been found complicit in these illegal and fraudulent acts.”
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