EFCC TO INVESTIGATE ALL EX AND SERVING SERVICE CHIEFS.

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) to carry out further investigation into the
misconduct established against the retired and
serving officers of the Nigerian Air Force and
Nigerian Army. A statement yesterday by the
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media
and Publicity Malam Garba Shehu said this was
on the recommendation of the committee
established to audit the procurement of arms and
equipment in the Armed Forces and Defence
sector from 2007 to 2015.
Those to be investigated, according to the
presidential spokesman, include Air Chief Marshal
AS Badeh (Rtd), Air Marshal MD Umar (Rtd), and
Air Marshal AN Amosu (Rtd), who are all former
service chiefs. The list also includes Maj-​Gen. ER
Chioba (Rtd), AVM​​ IA​ Balogun (Rtd), AVM AG​
Tsakr​ (Rtd), AVM​​ AG​ Idowu (Rtd), AVM AM
Mamu, AVM OT Oguntoyinbo and AVM T Omenyi.
Also mentioned are AVM JB Adigun, AVM​​ RA
Ojuawo, AVM ​​JA Kayode-Beckley, Air Cdre SA
Yushau (Rtd), Air Cdre AO Ogunjobi, Air Cdre​
GMD Gwani, Air Cdre SO Makinde, Air Cdre AY
Lassa​, Col. ​​N Ashinze and Col. MS Dasuki (Rtd).
Shehu added that following the submission of the
audit committee’s second interim report, Buhari
had directed the EFCC to investigate the roles of
the officers and the following companies and their
directors in fundamental breaches associated with
the procurements by the Office of the National
Security Adviser and the Nigerian Air Force
(NAF): Messrs Societe D’ Equipments
Internationaux, Himma Aboubakar, Aeronautical
Engineering and Technical Services Limited,
Messrs Syrius Technologies, Dr Theresa A. Ittu,
Sky Experts Nig Ltd, Omenyi Ifeanyi Tony, Huzee
Nig. Ltd, GAT Techno Dynamics Ltd and Gbujie
Peter Obie. The list also included: Onuri Samuel
Ugochukwu, Spacewebs Interservices Ltd,
Oguntoyinbo Tayo, Oguntoyinbo Funmi, Delfina Oil
and Gas Ltd, Chief Jacobs Bola, Mono Marine
Corporation Nig Ltd, Geonel Intergrated Services
Ltd, Sachi Felicia, Mudaki Polycarp and Wolfgang
Reinl. Shehu said the breaches identified by the
Audit Committee included non-specification of
procurement costs, absence of contract
agreements, award of contracts beyond
authorised thresholds, transfer of public funds for
unidentified purposes and general non-adherence
to provisions of the Public Procurement Act. He
said the procurement processes were also
arbitrarily carried out and generally characterized
by irregularities and fraud. In many cases, the
procured items failed to meet the purposes they
were procured for, especially the counter-
insurgency efforts in the North-East. The
presidential aide also stated that a major
procurement activity undertaken by Office of the
National Security Adviser (ONSA) for NAF was
that concerning the contracts awarded to Societe
D’ Equipment Internationaux (SEI) Nig Ltd. He
said: “Between January 2014 and February
2015, NAF awarded 10 contracts totalling
$930,500,690.00 to SEI Nig Ltd. Letters of award
and End User Certificates for all the contracts
issued by NAF and ONSA respectively did not
reflect the contract sums. Rather, these were only
found in the vendor’s invoices, all dated 19 March
2015. Additionally, some of the award letters
contained misleading delivery dates suggesting
fraudulent intent in the award process. Shehu
said the observed discrepancies are in clear
contravention of extant procurement regulations.
“It was confirmed that the helicopters were
excessively priced and not operationally air-
worthy at the time of delivery. A brand new unit
of such helicopters goes for about $30m.
Furthermore, the helicopters were delivered
without rotor blades and upgrade accessories.
Additionally, the helicopters were undergoing
upgrade while being deployed for operation in the
North-East without proper documentation. It was
further established that as at date, only one of
the helicopters is in service while the other
crashed and claimed the lives of two NAF
personnel.” Shehu added that the committee
established that ONSA also funded the
procurement of 4 used Alpha-Jets for the NAF at
the cost of $7,180,000.00. “However, it was
confirmed that only 2 of the Alpha-Jet aircraft
were ferried to Nigeria after cannibalization of
engines from NAF fleet. This is contrary to the
written assertion of the former Chief of Air Staff,
Air Marshal AN Amosu to the former NSA that all
the 4 procured Alpha-Jets aircraft were delivered
to the NAF,” he said. Shehu added that the
procurement of the Alpha-Jets was contrary to
the recommendation of the assessment team, and
found the conduct of Air Marshal Amosu
“deliberately misleading and unpatriotic”. He also
said The contract for the procurement of 36D6
Low Level Air Defence Radar for the NAF was
awarded to GAT Techno Dynamics Ltd in April
2014 at the cost of $33m and was funded by
ONSA, but the committee established that the
radars were excessively priced. Shehu also said
the committee observed that the radars were
delivered without the vital component of
Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) that
distinguishes between own and adversary aircraft,
which significantly degraded the operational
capabilities of the NAF in the North-East. Shehu
said it was established that between September
2009 and May 2015, the NAF expended about
N15bn on the maintenance of its Alpha-Jets,
C-130H aircraft and Mi-24V/35P helicopters. “Out
of this amount, over N4bn was paid out for
contracts not executed. It was also observed that
in carrying out these maintenance activities,
contracts worth over N2.5bn were awarded to
Syrius Technologies, a Ukrainian company that
was not registered in Nigeria. In spite of these
expenditures, the status of NAF fleet remained
operationally appalling as only 3 Alpha-Jets, 2
C-130H and one each of Mi-24V and Mi-35P
were serviceable as at 28 May 15.” Shehu also
said in October 2013, NAF awarded contracts to
DICON for the supply of weapons and ammunition
at the cost of N599,118,000.00. However, only 2
of the 7 items contracted were delivered , while
the outstanding 5 items remain undelivered. “The
Committee also found that the delivered
ammunition were about 40 years old, thereby
casting doubts on their shelf-life. The failure of
DICON to fully execute the contract and the
delivery of aged ammunition diminished the
capacity of the NAF in North-East operation,” he
said. Shehu also revealed that the committee
uncovered insider dealings by military officers in
procurement activities undertaken by ONSA and
the NAF, with misuse or abuse of office for
personal gain, by influencing award of contracts
to private companies in which they have
substantial interests. “For instance, an officer
serving in the ONSA used his office to secure 2
contracts for his company, Geonel Integrated
Services Ltd, for the protection of 20 Dams and
Presidential Air Fleet security at over N6bn $5m,
respectively. Shehu said in continuation of its
assignment, the committee has so far established
that the nation spent about N29bn and $2bn on
NAF procurement activities alone.