Two
former Chiefs of Army Staff, retired Lt.-Generals O.A. Ihejirika and K.T.J.
Minimah as well as a former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs II, Dr
Nurudeen Mohammed have been recommended for further investigation in connection
with the multi-billion naira defence contract scandal.
Others to be so investigated are three former Permanent Secretaries, Ministry of Defence namely Mr. Bukar Goni Aji, Mr. Haruna Sanusi and Me. E. O, Oyemomi.
Others to be so investigated are three former Permanent Secretaries, Ministry of Defence namely Mr. Bukar Goni Aji, Mr. Haruna Sanusi and Me. E. O, Oyemomi.
The
recommendation was made by the committee charged with investigating the Defence
Equipment Procurement from 2007 to 2015, and accepted by President Muhammadu
Buhari.
The recommendation was announced last night in statement by the Special Assistant to the minister of Information and Culture, Segun Adeyemi.
The recommendation was announced last night in statement by the Special Assistant to the minister of Information and Culture, Segun Adeyemi.
It said the committee found a number of irregularities in the contract awards.
It said the action followed the Third Interim Report of the Presidential Committee on the Audit of Defence Equipment, which was released yesterday.
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.
The report said all of them were either accounting officers or played key roles in the Nigerian Army procurement activities during the period under review.
The CEOs to be investigated include Col. Olu Bamgbose (Rtd) of Bamverde Ltd; Mr. Amity Sade of Doiyatec Comms Ltd and DYI Global Services and Mr. Edward Churchill of Westgate Global Trust Ltd.
According to the Committee, the total amount spent for procurement and operations within the period were N185.8 billion and $685.35 million.
The committee note that the Nigerian Army contracts awarded by the Ministry of Defence during the period were often awarded without ‘’significant input from end-user (Nigerian Army) and to vendors who lacked the necessary technical competence.’’
‘‘As an example, 3 contracts with a total value of N5.94 billion were awarded to DYI Global Services Ltd and Doiyatec Comms Nig. Ltd (owned by the same individuals) for the procurement of military hardware including 20 units of KM-38 Twin Hull Boats and 6 Units of 4X4 Ambulances fitted with radios.
“The committee found that the 2 companies collected N5.103 billion, representing 86% of the total value of the 3 contracts worth N5,94 billion , but only performed to the tune of N2.992 billion, ‘’ the report said.
The committee also found that a contract worth N169.9 million for the procurement of 53 armoured vehicles spare parts, with 90-day completion time, is yet to be completed five years after.
With respect to contracts awarded directly by the Nigerian Army, the committee found that many of the contracts were characterised by ‘’lack of due process, in breach of extant procurement regulations and tainted by corrupt practices.
‘‘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 2 companies exclusively procured various types of Toyota and Mitsubishi vehicles worth over N3,000,000,000.0 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, analysis of the various bank accounts of the 2 companies showed transfers to individuals related to then Chief of Army Staff,’’ the report said
The committee was headed by AVM Jon Ode (Rtd).
Find below the list of individuals and companies that were accounting officers or played key roles in the Nigerian Army procurement activities during the period under review:
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