12:04
Ever since the arrest of Colonel Sambo Dasuki, the
former National Security Adviser (NSA), many cans of
worms have been thrown open, especially after his
transfer to the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday, December 1, 2015.
Since then, there have been series of other arrests and
listing of some top guns believed to have benefited from
the largess which the ex-NSA boss was clearly bossed
before the end of the immediate past administration of
Dr Goodluck Jonathan.
While Dasuki’s arrest is perceived in some quarters as
another witch-hunt by President Muhammadu Buhari,
several other observers have hailed the president for
taking such drastic steps in arresting and interrogating
the man who was said to be helping with the fight
against dreaded Islamist sect, Boko Haram.
But, his arrest has led to series of unprecedented
revelations by some of the aides of the former president
as well as those who were in one way or the other
connected to the office of the NSA.
Although he has (through his lawyer) since denied
reports that he mentioned some names as his
accomplice in the multi-billion naira arms deal scandal,
EFCC sources insist that he wrote down his confession
after being availed of a copy of the statement written by
Shaibu Salisu, a former director of finance in the Office
of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
Naij.com has therefore identified seven facts about the
arrest of the ex-NSA which Nigerians must know as the
questioning and subsequent prosecution of the retired
Colonel continues.
Dokpesi’s Confession
After his arrest by the anti-graft agency, the proprietor
of Daar Communications, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, told
EFCC operatives that he actually collected N2.1billion
from Dasuki , but stated further that the amount was
used for campaign and publicity.
Raymond Dokpesi said he used the N2.1billion for
media campaign towards the last election.
After the statement was made, the media practitioner
had his house ransacked by operatives of the
commission amid uncertainties about his involvement in
the scandal.
As at the time of filing this report, an EFCC source
stated that Dokpesi is among those who they have
decided to ‘keep’ in custody to further help them with
investigations.
Aminu’s Arrest
While everyone was still trying to swallow the fact that
the former NSA had been handed over to the EFCC for
questioning and further interrogation, news surfaced
about the arrest of one of his aides, Alhaji Aminu Baba
Kusa, who is believed to be a beneficiary of Dasuki’s
largess .
Alhaji Aminu Kusa is being accused alongside his son
of being involved in multiple shady deals.
Kusa, a member of the National Intelligence Agency
(NIA) and the chairman of An-Nur Mosque in Abuja, is
being accused, alongside his son, of charges ranging
from criminal conspiracy, theft, forgery, diversion of
public funds, to money laundering.
Dasuki’s Revelation
Nigerians were also stunned when the ex-NSA started
listing the names of some top politicians in the country,
especially Chief Bode George, a chieftain of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Odili, a former
governor of Rivers state in his confessions to the anti-
graft agency.
While Chief George has said that he does not know
Dasuki, the former Rivers governor is yet to give any
comment on the said revelation by the retired Colonel.
The ex-NSA boss was said to have mentioned Chief
Bode George and former Rivers governor, Peter Odili in
his confession to the EFCC
But the singular fact that their names were mentioned at
all by the EFCC sources point to the fact that they may
be involved in one way or the other.
Ex-Minister Bashir Yuguda
Alongside Dokpesi and other unnamed suspects in the
phoney arms deal, a former minister of state for
finance, Bashir Yuguda, was nabbed together with other
top officials from the office of the NSA over the
controversial arms procurement scandal.
It was revealed further that EFCC sources confirmed
that a huge amount of money, running into billions,
meant for arms procurement was allegedly traced to the
former minister.
Former minister of state for finance, Bashir Yuguda, is
also among those being mentioned in the arms deal
scandal.
This also clearly points out another anomaly with the
scandal for which Dasuki is expected to make further
revelations in the coming days.
Former Sokoto state governor, Attahiru Bafarawa
And in the most bizarre case of all the accused
arrested, the Attahiru Bafarawa, a former Sokoto state
governor, was said to have informed that he collected
the amount linked to him for some ‘spiritual’ purposes,
only for one of his aides, Alhaji Akibu Dalhatu, to issue a
statement that it was not so.
Attahiru Bafarawa, a former governor of Sokoto state, is
also one of the accomplice reportedly mentioned by the
former NSA.
In the statement, the aide noted that the story about the
former governor collecting huge amounts of money
from the former NSA, was concocted by some media
practitioners aimed at rubbishing the image of his boss.
Dalhatu also informed that Bafarawa was not arrested,
he argued that the ex-governor was invited and he
honoured the invitation when he returned from his trip
abroad.
Further revelations have since been made by Dasuki, as
he informed that he was given an ‘oral’ permission by
the former president Jonathan, to give out the monies
which he gave out, and for which he is being presently
questioned.
Nigerians will be waiting with rapt attention to see those
who will be further mentioned in the confessions of the
ex-NSA boss, as the court has also stalled hearing on
his case.
Friday, 4 December 2015
5 Things Every Nigerian Should Know About Dasuki's $2bn Probe
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments
Post a Comment