Posted on: 11:12 Fri, 15 Jan 2016

President Muhammadu Buhari has
today directed the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to
carry out investigation into the
misconduct established against some
retired and serving officers of the
Nigerian Air Force and Nigerian Army.



Below is an official statement released
by Garba Shehu, the Presidential
Senior Special Adviser on Media &
Publicity, today in Abuja and obtained
by SaharaReporters ;

“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, President
Muhammadu Buhari has directed the
Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) to carry out
further investigation into the
misconduct established against the
following retired and serving officers
of the Nigerian Air Force and Nigerian
Army:
(1) Air Chief Marshal AS Badeh (Rtd)
(2)​ Air Marshal MD Umar (Rtd)
(3) Air Marshal​ AN Amosu (Rtd)
(4)​ Maj-​Gen. ER Chioba (Rtd)
(5)​ AVM​​ IA​ Balogun (Rtd)
(6) AVM AG​ Tsakr (Rtd)
(7)​ AVM​​ AG​ Idowu (Rtd)
(8) AVM AM Mamu
(9) AVM OT Oguntoyinbo
(10) AVM T Omenyi
(11) AVM JB Adigun
(12)​ AVM​​ RA Ojuawo
(13)​ AVM ​​JA Kayode-Beckley
(12) Air Cdre SA Yushau (Rtd)
(13) Air Cdre AO Ogunjobi
(14) Air Cdre​ GMD Gwani
(15) Air Cdre SO Makinde
(16)​ Air Cdre AY Lassa​
(16)​ Col ​​N Ashinze
(17) Lt Col. MS Dasuki (Rtd)

Following the submission of the audit
committee’s second interim report,
President Buhari has 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 (ONSA) and the Nigerian Air
Force (NAF).
(1)​ Messrs Societe D’ Equipments
Internationaux
(2) Himma Aboubakar
(3)​ Aeronautical Engineering and
Technical Services Limited
(4) Messrs Syrius Technologies
(5) Dr Theresa A. Ittu
(6)​ Sky Experts Nig Ltd
(7) Omenyi Ifeanyi Tony
(8)​ Huzee Nig Ltd
(9)​ GAT Techno Dynamics Ltd
(10) Gbujie Peter Obie
(11) Onuri Samuel Ugochukwu
(12)​ Spacewebs Interservices Ltd
(13) Oguntoyinbo Tayo
(14) Oguntoyinbo Funmi.
(15) Delfina Oil and Gas Ltd
(16) Chief Jacobs Bola
(17)​ Mono Marine Corporation Nig Ltd
(18) Geonel Intergrated Services Ltd
(20) Sachi Felicia
(20) Mudaki Polycarp
(21) Wolfgang Reinl.

The breaches identified by the Audit
Committee include 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.

Furthermore, the procurement
processes were 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.

A major procurement activity
undertaken by ONSA for NAF was that
concerning the contracts awarded to
Societe D’ Equipment Internationaux
(SEI) Nig Ltd.

Between January 2014 and February
2015, NAF awarded 10 contracts
totalling Nine Hundred and Thirty
Million, Five Hundred Thousand, Six
Hundred and Ninety US Dollars
($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. The observed
discrepancies are in clear
contravention of extant procurement
regulations.

The SEI contracts included
procurement of two used Mi-24V
Helicopters instead of the
recommended Mi-35M series at the
cost of One Hundred and Thirty Six
Million, Nine Hundred and Forty Four
Thousand US Dollars ($136,944,000.00).

However, 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 Thirty
Million US Dollars ($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.

​The Committee established that
ONSA also funded the procurement of 4
used Alpha-Jets for the NAF at the cost
of Seven Million, One Hundred and
Eighty Thousand US Dollars
($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.

The non-militarisation of the Alpha-Jets
made them unsuitable for deployment
to the North East and they are
currently deployed only for training at
NAF Kainji.

Furthermore, the procurement of the
Alpha-Jets was contrary to the
recommendation of the assessment
team. The Committee found that the
conduct of Air Marshal Amosu was
deliberately misleading and
unpatriotic.

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 Thirty Three Million US Dollars
($33m) and was funded by ONSA.

The Committee established that the
radars were excessively priced as a
complete set of such radars (comprising
6 radars including the Control Centre)
goes for Six Million US Dollars ($6m)
averagely. 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 has significantly degraded the
operational capabilities of the NAF in
the North East.

It was further observed that the sum of
Three Million, Three Hundred
Thousand US Dollars ($3.3m) was
fraudulently included in the contract
agreement as VAT and With Holding
Tax and subsequently paid into the
bank accounts of Spacewebs
Interservices Ltd and Delfina Oil and
Gas Ltd.

The Committee further established that
Two Million US Dollars ($2m) from the
proceeds was transferred to Mono
Marine Corporation Nig Ltd, which is
jointly owned by principal characters
in this deal. The Committee opined that
the infractions of extant regulations by
these companies were clearly intended
to defraud.

It was established that between
September 2009 and May 2015, the
NAF expended about Fifteen Billion
Naira (N15bn) on the maintenance of
its Alpha-Jets, C-130H aircraft and
Mi-24V/35P helicopters. Out of this
amount, Four Billion, Four Hundred
and Two Million, Six Hundred and
Eighty Seven Thousand, Five Hundred
and Sixty Nine Naira, Forty One Kobo
(N4,402,687,569.41) was paid out for
contracts not executed.

It was also observed that in carrying
out these maintenance activities,
contracts worth over Two Billion, Five
Hundred Million Naira (N2.5bn) were
awarded to Syrius Technologies, a
Ukrainian company that was not
registered in Nigeria. Regrettably, 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.

In October 2013, NAF awarded
contracts to DICON for the supply of
weapons and ammunition at the cost of
Five Hundred and Ninety Nine Million,
One Hundred and Eighteen Thousand
Naira (N599,118,000.00). However,
only 2 of the 7 items contracted were
delivered to NAF while the outstanding
5 items remained undelivered despite
repeated requests to DICON.

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.

The Committe uncovered insider
dealings by military officers in
procurement activities undertaken by
ONSA and the NAF. The officers were
found to have misused or abused their
offices for personal gains 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 the cost of Six
Billion, Two Hundred and Fifty Million
Naira (N6,250,000,000.00) and Five
Million US Dollars ($5m) respectively.

Furthermore, some NAF officers used
their companies to collect VAT and
With Holding Tax that were never
remitted to FIRS while another officer
was found to have cross transferred
about Five Hundred Million Naira
(N500m) between a NAF company,
Aeronautical Engineering and
Technical Services Limited, SkyExperts
Nig Ltd and Huzee Nig Ltd, companies
in which he had personal interests.

It would be recalled that in its First
Interim Report, the Committee on
Audit of Defence Equipment
established that the sum of Six
Hundred and Forty Three Billion Naira
(N643bn) and Two Billion, One
Hundred Million US Dollars ($2.1bn)
interventions were received for
defence procurements by DHQ and the
Services between 2007 and 2015.

In continuation of its assignment, the
Committee has so far established that
the nation spent about Twenty Nine
Billion Naira (N29bn) and Two Billion
US Dollars ($2bn) on NAF procurement
activities alone.”

Garba Shehu,
SSA to the President
(Media & Publicity)
January 15, 2016.