How Former NSA Awarded N333bn Fake Arms Contracts

The 13-man panel set up by the Office of the National Security Adviser to probe the procurement of arms and equipment in the Armed Forces and Defence sector from 2007 till date submitted its interim report to President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday.

The president reportedly ordered the arrest and prosecution of all those indicted in the report.

A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adeshina , disclosed that the National Security Adviser under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), is among those indicted in the report.

Adeshina said said that the panel analysed interventions from  organisations that provided funds to the Office of the National Security Adviser, Defence Headquarters, Army Headquarters, Naval Headquarters and Nigerian Air Force Headquarters, in both local and foreign currencies.

According to the Presidential spokesman, approximately N643.817bn in extra budgetary expenditures have so far been verified. He said that despite the huge spending, only very little procurement was done, despite the fact that the troops fighting insurgency in the Northeast were in desperate need of equipment.

He said, “The committee also observed that of 513 contracts awarded at $8,356,525,184.32; N2,189,265,724,404.55 and €54,000.00; fifty-three (53) were failed contracts, amounting to $2,378,939,066.27 and N13,729,342,329.87 respectively.

“Interestingly, it was noted that the amount of foreign currency spent on failed contracts was more than double the $1bn loan that the National Assembly approved for borrowing to fight insurgency in the North-East.

“The committee also discovered that payments to the tune of three billion, eight hundred and fifty million Naira (N3,850,000,000.00) were made to a single company by the former NSA without documented evidence of contractual agreements or fulfilment of tax obligations to the FGN.

“Further findings revealed that between March 2012 and March 2015, the erstwhile NSA, Col. M.S. Dasuki (retd.), awarded fictitious and phantom contracts to the tune of N2,219,188,609.50, $1,671,742,613.58 and €9,905,477.00; totalling N333bn (at N197 to a dollar, N212.563 to a Euro).

“The contracts, which were said to be for the purchase of four Alpha Jets, 12 helicopters, bombs and ammunition were not executed and the equipment were never supplied to the Nigerian Air Force, neither are they in its inventory.

“Even more disturbing was the discovery that out of these figures, two companies were awarded contracts to the tune of N350,000,000.00; $1,661,670,469.71 and €9,905,477.00 alone.

“This was without prejudice to the consistent non-performance of the companies in the previous contracts awarded.

“Additionally, it was discovered that the former NSA directed the Central Bank of Nigeria to transfer the sum of $132,050,486.97 and €9,905,473.55 to the accounts of Societe D’equipmente Internationaux in West Africa, United Kingdom and United States of America for un-ascertained purposes, without any contract documents to explain the transactions.

“Had the funds siphoned to these non performing companies been properly used for the purpose they were meant for, thousands of needless Nigerian deaths would have been avoided. The ridicule Nigeria has faced in the international community would have been avoided,” said the Presidential spokesman.

He added that President Buhari had ordered the relevant agencies to arrest and prosecute everyone involved in these fraudulent activities.