A serving Minister of Interior, Abdurrahman Bello Dambazau is among some former army chiefs indicted in the newest report to be submitted to the president, Premium Times has reported. As reported by our source, those indicted in the report of Presidential Committee on Defence Equipment Procurement in the Nigerian Armed Forces with Dambazau are; the immediate past chief of army staff, Kenneth Minimah, and his predecessor, Azubuike Ihejirika.
The probe report, which is described as “damning” and “explosive”, according to Premium Times, has stirred tension and frantic scheming among former army chiefs and other top officers of the Nigerian Army.
A reliable source close to the committee, which was set up by Mr. Buhari to probe the procurement of arms, ammunition and equipment in the military from 2007 to 2015, told this newspaper that several top retired army officers were indicted and some were already scheming to suppress the content of the report.
Mr. Dambazau was particularly mentioned as trying to suppress the content of the report. He was appointed the chief of army staff by late President Umaru Yar’Adua, and served between 2008 and 2010.
“The committee members are putting things together and will present its findings to the president in the next week or so,” our source said.
Our source explained that the committee uncovered a whole lot of things including the outright stealing of money meant for equipment for the army, inflation of contract, diversion of money for soldiers’ welfare, money for the rehabilitation of barracks and military facilities and many other corrupt practices.
In March 2016, the committee, predominantly made up of retired military officers, had summoned 292 retired and serving top army officers including Messrs. Dambazau, Ihejirika and Minimah.
Last August, Mr. Buhari directed the national security adviser, Mohammed Mongonu, to set up a 13-member investigative committee on the procurement of hardware and munitions in the Armed Forces.
