How Badeh diverted NAF’s N558m monthly for 15 months – Witness

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Wednesday alleged that a former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh (retd.), diverted N558,200,000 monthly from the account of the Nigerian Air Force when Badeh was the Chief of Air Staff.

Alex Badeh Ibrahim Seid Mahamat

The anti-graft agency said this when it opened its case against the ex-CDS before a Federal High Court in Abuja.

The EFCC is prosecuting Badeh alongside a firm, Iyalikam Nigeria Limited, on 10 counts of money laundering bordering on alleged fraudulent removal of about N3.97bn from the NAF’s account.

The commission alleged that Badeh used the fund to buy and develop landed assets in Abuja for himself and his two sons between January and December 2013.

Badeh served as the Chief of Air Staff and later became the Chief of Defence Staff till he retired from the military last year.

He attended the Wednesday’s proceedings from prison and returned there after the court session as he had yet to meet the N2bn bail condition imposed on him by the court.

Testifying as the first prosecution witness on Wednesday, a former Director of Finance and Account of the NAF, Air Commodore Aliyu Yishau (retd.), narrated how he routinely helped Badeh to divert the sum of N558.2m by converting it to its dollar equivalent.

He said he usually handed the dollar equivalent of the money to Badeh at his official residence on a monthly basis.

Yishau, who was led in evidence by the lead prosecuting counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), said the diversion took place from September 2012 to December, 2013, when Badeh served as the Chief of Air Staff.

The witness, who testified for about six hours on Wednesday, said the NAF usually received monthly allocations in its Capital Vote account with the Central Bank of Nigeria in Lagos; the Overhead Vote account with the Zenith Bank Plc and the Personnel and Emolument Vote account with the UBA.

He said the sum of N558.2m was drawn from the Personnel and Emolument account as fund meant for “general administration of the Chief of Air Staff”’.

Yishau told Justice Okon Abang on Wednesday that he aided Badeh to acquire and develop landed assets in Abuja with the N558.2m, which was being drawn from the Personnel Emolument account of the NAF on a monthly basis.

He said the N558.2m was part of the excess in the N4bn, which the NAF received monthly in the personnel and emolument account after the salaries and allowances of permanent and temporary staff must have been paid.

He said, “Although, I cannot remember the figure each year, we received a little about N4bn monthly for the personnel emolument allocation account. However, our total wage bill as of that time was above N2bn monthly.

“The balance of the personnel emolument was usually about N1.6bn to N1.7bn, depending on the month. Out of this amount, the sum of N558,200,000 was for the general administration of the Chief of Army Staff monthly.

“Concerning the N558,200,000, the instruction was always given to me as the Director of Accounts and I passed same instruction to the Finance Officer at the headquarters of NAF camp, Abuja.

“The money is changed to dollar, when this money is changed, it was brought to me and I would take it to the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh, at his official residence in Niger Barracks.”

He said there were no documents showing the monthly deliveries of the dollar equivalent of the N558.2m to Badeh because it was not the practice in the military to request a written agreement.

He said, “As military officers, we don’t request for any agreement. However, in some cases, I told the finance officers to meet me at the Air House in Niger Barracks with the money so that he could see when I handed over the money to the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh.

“The instruction for conversion is not in writing. The Chief of Air Staff does give many instructions that are not in writing.

“The only instructions that were in writing were those requests forwarding instructions from branches and units for approval. When the approvals are given, they are forwarded to my office for necessary payment action.”

He said he did not directly benefit from the monthly diversion of the N558.2m but that Badeh helped him to complete the landed assets he was constructing in Abuja and Kaduna.

According to him, all the said landed assets had been marked by the EFCC.

The witness, who said Badeh was the second Chief of Air Staff that he served as the Director of Finance Accounts, added that Badeh’s predecessor, M. D. Umar, was still being investigated by the EFCC.

Yishau explained that Badeh provided the dollar equivalents for the purchase of the various properties, which he assisted him to locate in various parts of Abuja.

The witness said he helped Badeh to purchase the property allegedly at No. 6, Ogun River Street, Off Danube Street, Maitama, Abuja, with dollar equivalent of N1.1bn.

He added, “Sometimes in January 2013, when I was taking the normal amount to him (Chief of Air Staff) in dollars, he directed that we should pay for the house. So he brought out the balance in dollars and made up the equivalent of N1.1bn.

“I gave the money to Barrister Hussein Umar and asked him to pay for the house. After the payment, it took sometime before the necessary documents were prepared. But Hussein Umar asked me the names to put on the documents. I asked the Chief Air Staff under which name he wanted the documents to be prepared.”

How Badeh diverted NAF’s N558m monthly for 15 months – Witness

Arms probe: Military seeks Buhari’s nod to try soldiers

If the Nigerian Army authorities get the nod of President Muhammadu Buhari, all suspected serving officers in the ongoing investigation into the $2.1bn arms procurement scandal will undergo military trial, The PUNCH has learnt.

A competent government source confided in our correspondent on Sunday that military authorities had sought the President’s permission for the officers to be prosecuted under the Armed Forces Act.

He said the position of the military was that the Armed Forces Act had made provision for such infractions on the part of military men and how to handle their cases.

 He added that it was the belief of the military that if the indicted officers were tried using the military rule, it would be better than when they were prosecuted by the regular court.The source said the argument for military trial for the officers was further strengthened by the fact that the money, which is the subject of the investigation, was meant for the procurement of arms for the Nigerian Armed Forces.

He said, “The military authorities have suggested to the Federal Government that all serving officers, found culpable in the ongoing investigation into the arms procurement scandal, be tried under the Armed Forces Act rather than being tried in regular courts.

“You may recall that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has returned Col. Ojogbane Adegbe, the former Aide-de-Camp to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, to the military authorities after he was interrogated.

“A former Military Assistant in the Office of the National Security Adviser, Col. Nicholas Ashinze, had also been confined to the Officers’ Mess by the military authorities after his initial detention by the anti-graft agency.

“The pending request to try and them and 11 other serving military chiefs using the Armed Forces Act may be responsible for this.”

The source, however, said the military authorities had yet to receive the permission to go ahead as of the time of filing this report on Sunday.

He said in arriving at a decision, the President might rely on the advice of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria; the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN); and the EFCC.

The Presidency had recently handed over a former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (retd.), and 17 others, including 11 serving senior military officers and 22 companies, to the EFCC for investigation into the alleged $2.1bn arms deals.

Apart from Badeh, others under investigation are ex-Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal M. D. Umar; a former NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.); Col. N. Ashinze; a former Chief of Air Staff, Adesola Amosu; the most senior Air Force officer, AVM A. M. Mamu (the Chief of Administration); and AVM O. T. Oguntoyinbo (former Director of Production, Defence Headquarters).

Others are AVM R. A. Ojuawo (Air Officer, Tactical Air Command, Makurdi); AVM J. B. Adigun (former Chief of Accounts and Budgeting in NAF); and AVM J. A. Kayode-Beckley (Director, Armament Research in Air Force Research and Development Centre); AVM T. Omenyi (MD, NAF Holdings); four top officers at the Defence Headquarters, Air Cdre A. O. Ogunjobi, Air Cdre G. M. D Gwani, Air Cdre S. O. Makinde, and Air Cdre A.Y. Lassa.

Arms probe: Military seeks Buhari’s nod to try soldiers

Why we could not defeat Boko Haram, by ex Defence chief

Ex Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh has identified the military’s lack of equipment and motivation for the inability to defeat the Boko Haram insurgency ravaging the Northeast.

Alex Badeh Ibrahim Seid Mahamat

Badeh also blamed those he referred to as fifth columnist among the Armed Forces and other security agencies for leakage of intelligence information to the insurgents in the counter insurgency campaign.

“For the first time, I was head of a military that lacked the relevant equipment and motivation to fight an enemy that was invisible and embedded with the local populace.

“Added to this, was the exploitation of a serious national security issue by a section of the press and the political class to gain political mileage.

“Furthermore, the activities of fifth columnists in the military and other security agencies who leaked operational plans and other sensitive military information to the terrorists, combined to make the fight against the insurgents particularly difficult”, the ex Defence chief stated.

Badeh stated this Thursday in his valedictory address at the pulling out ceremony to mark his exit from the Armed Forces. He was removed alongside other Service Chiefs on July 13.

He regretted that unpatriotic activities of certain members of the military blunted the effectiveness of the fight against the insurgents, leading to the needless death of officers and men in the hands of the insurgents.

He continued, “The decision by certain countries to deny us weapons to prosecute the war also added to the challenges we faced. Despite these challenges, I am glad to note that a lot was achieved during our time in the fight against terror.

“The achievements recorded are largely due to the commitment, patriotism and fighting spirit of our men and women in uniform who saw the fight against terror as a task that must be accomplished no matter the odds and inspite of the campaign of calumny against the military by a section of the media with their foreign collaborators.

“The support of our teeming populace who have continued to stand behind their military has been quite encouraging. Also, our true friends who stood by us in our time of need and provided us the weapons we are now using to conduct the operations will always have a special place in our hearts”.

Further lamenting the underfunding of the military by successive administrations, Badeh said the development left the nation’s military ill prepared for the Boko Haram insurgency.

According to him, this left available military facilities and personnel overstretched, leading to the devastation in the Northeast occasioned by insurgent attacks.

“Permit me to also add here, that nation’s militaries are equipped and trained in peace time, for the conflicts they expect to confront in the future.

“Unfortunately that has not been our experience as a nation. Over the years, the military was neglected and underequipped to ensure the survival of certain regimes, while other regimes, based on advice from some foreign nations, deliberately reduced the size of the military and underfunded it.

“Unfortunately, our past leaders accepted such recommendations without appreciating our peculiarities as a third world military, which does not have the technological advantage that could serve as force multipliers and compensate for reduced strength.

“Accordingly, when faced with the crises in the Northeast and other parts of the country, the military was overstretched and had to embark on emergency recruitments and trainings, which were not adequate to prepare troops for the kind of situation we found ourselves in.

“It is important therefore for the government to decide on the kind of military force it needs, by carrying out a comprehensive review of the nation’s military force structure to determine the size, capability and equipment holding required to effectively defend the nation and provide needed security.

“This is based on the fact that without security, there cannot be sustainable development. The huge cost that would be required to rebuild the Northeast and other trouble spots in the country could have been avoided if the military had been adequately equipped and prepared to contain the on going insurgency before it escalated to where it is today,” he submitted.

Why we could not defeat Boko Haram, by ex Defence chief

Breaking: Buhari fires service chiefs

By Ehi Ekhator, Naija Center News

President Muhammadu Buhari fired Nigeria’s service chiefs on Monday.

Their replacement is unknown as at the time of filing this report, but it is expected to be announced by Presidency spokesperson later.

The Chiefs are Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin, Lt-Gen. Kenneth Minimah and Alex Badeh.

 

 

 

Details later.

Breaking: Buhari fires service chiefs

Boko Haram takes over CDS Badeh"s home town

By Umar Yusuf & Ndahi Marama

YOLA —Few hours after the commercial nerve centre and the second biggest town in Adamawa State fell into the hands of Islamic sect, Boko Haram, the insurgents, yesterday, overran Vimtim, the home town of the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh.

The terrorists have thus rubbished the purported ceasefire agreement announced by the Chief of Defence Staff and his earlier vow on January 20 this year that the Boko Haram menace would end last April.

Mubi town was invaded, yesterday, by the terrorists who stormed the 234 Nigerian Army Battalion, burnt down the police station and the Mubi prison, setting the inmates free. The insurgents also hoisted their flag at the Palace of the Emir of Mubi. When the insurgents invaded the town, the troops and the residents fled while they had a field day looting and burning property.

As at yesterday, Mubi was like a ghost town as the entire residents have deserted it even as some edifices like the Mubi International Cattle Market, the local government secretariat as well as some private buildings were still burning.

Having taken over Mubi, the insurgents marched on to other surrounding villages and towns before storming Vimtim, the home town of the Chief of Defence Staff.

How we escaped from Mubi –Redeemed pastor

A Zonal pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG,who escaped from the insurgents in Mubi, told Vanguard that the Boko Haram sect had conquered Mubi and were fully in-charge.

Asked how he escaped, he said he was just getting to Yola, the Adamawa State Capital at press time last night, after a scary run through Mubi bushes and farm roads.

“For over two hours, we ran and crawled through bush tracks and farm roads to get to where I got a bus to Yola. I am just getting to Yola. I thank God.”

Asked what he was doing in Mubi, the pastor said he was transferred to somewhere in Borno where he stayed for several days. According to him, “there was no telecommunication network in the area, I could neither call nor receive calls. The insurgents were terrorizing the area and one of my zonal pastors at the headquarters advised that I should not stay there hence, I had to leave”.

Before he fled Mubi for Yola, he said the security problem had worsened. “However, the men and the youths said they were not going anywhere, that enough is enough. They have been killing the militants. Yesterday, they killed two. But they withdrew the soldiers and mobile policemen and yesterday the insurgents attacked. They have conquered Mubi. That is why most people are afraid.”

Adamawa Govt moves to send trapped residents to IDP camp

Meanwhile, Adamawa State Government has dispatched over hundred buses to comb Mubi and its environs for people who were trapped and stranded in buses and villages for onward transit to the Internally Displaced Persons Camp in the State capital.

Governor Bala James Ngilari gave the order yesterday afternoon, when concerned citizens of Mubi visited him to brief him on current development in the area.

Briefing the Governor, leader of the group, Mr. Joshua Atiku told him to consult with the Federal Government to persuade the Cameroonian authorities to allow fleeing people access into that country.

Atiku disclosed that hundreds of thousands of people escaping into Cameroon were stranded at the borders owing to the fact that the Cameroonian gendarmes have denied them entry.

He added that the situation was causing concern to the people, who have fled their homes due to insecurity only to run into diplomatic problems with their neighbours.

Atiku charged both state and federal governments to as a matter of urgency do everything humanly possible to evacuate people still trapped in Mubi and its environs as the insurgents continue to lay siege to the town.

What Badeh said in January

On January 20 this year when Air Marshal Alex Badeh assumed office, he expressed optimism that there would soon be an end to insurgency in some parts of the country. He said with the support and co-operation of the new service chiefs, the Boko Haram menace would be stamped out in the next three months.

He said it was mandatory for the military to eliminate the menace of Boko Haram before April to avert a constitutional problem in the polity. The CDS said it was possible to bring the insurgency in the North East to an end if the military approached its security responsibilities cohesively.

“We must bring it to a stop before April so that we will not have constitutional problems on our hands. We don’t want to go back to the Senate to start begging and lobbying. If we do our work cohesively, I can tell you, Gen. Minimah, you will finish your work in no time.

“I can say confidently that this war is already won,” he had said.

NEMA expresses shock, fears over humanitarian challenges in Adamawa, Borno

Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the North East sub region yesterday, expressed “shocks and fears” over Wednesday’s multiple attacks on Mubi town in Adamawa state, as the number of displaced persons continued to rise with increased humanitarian challenges at various resettlement camps.

The North-East Zonal Information Officer of NEMA, Abdulkadir Ibrahim, who addressed newsmen on Mubi’s multiple attacks and eventual capture by Boko Haram insurgents said: “We are very much alarmed and worried by the latest attacks on Mubi and Uba towns of Adamawa and Borno states; which have sacked many residents from their houses and displaced over 8, 950 refugees from their existing camps in the two affected communities.

“It is disheartening that this is happening when a humanitarian agency like this, was doing everything possible to cushion the devastating effects of the attacks on Madagali, Michika, Gulak and other surrounding communities through intervention by providing relief materials to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at Mubi and Uba which were also attacked by insurgents yesterday (Wednesday).

“Many victims fled into mountainous border areas of Cameroon while others fled to Yola for safety, leaving the existing camps empty”.

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Boko Haram takes over CDS Badeh"s home town