An ex Chief of Army Staff has been hit by
the iron rod of the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission as his estate gets
seized.
According to a The Nation report, the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) has seized an estate, allegedly valued
at over N4billion from a former Chief of
Army Staff.
The estate, which has been placed under
Interim Asset Forfeiture, was confiscated on
account of the ongoing probe of the ex-
Army Chief over $2.1 billion arms deals.
Prior to the seizure, the Presidential
Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment
Procurement (CADEP) had traced about N2
billion meant for the purchase of vehicles for
the Nigerian Army, to the accounts of five
children of the former Army chief.
There were indications that the said
accounts were yet to be de-frozen at press
time.
The Presidential Committee on Audit of
Defence Equipment, headed by AVM JON
Ode, had submitted its third interim report
to President Muhammadu Buhari, leading to
the shortlisting of the 54 people to be
probed.
Apart from two ex-Army Chiefs, others
recommended for probe are 16 other
retired and serving Army officers, 12 serving
and retired public officers and 24 Chief
Executive Officers of companies involved in
the procurement of equipment.
According to findings made by our
correspondent, the EFCC decided to invoke
Interim Asset Forfeiture Clause pending the
outcome of the ongoing investigation.
A search by our correspondent revealed that
the estate is sited between Jabi and Life
Camp.
When our correspondent visited the site at
11am on Friday, the EFCC’s ‘Keep Off’ sign
was already pasted on the estate.
The anti-graft agency also indicated that the
estate was “under investigation.”
The estate contains more than 30 duplexes
built to taste.
A reliable source, who spoke in confidence,
said: “The ex-Army Chief was referred to the
EFCC based on the report of the Presidential
Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment,
headed by AVM JON Ode.
“We are still investigating the ex-Army Chief
and he will soon be interrogated. But in line
with our modus operandi, we have been
able to trace his suspicious assets which we
have attached under Interim Asset
Forfeiture.
“In this case of the ex-Chief of Army Staff, his
children and friends were used as fronts for
money laundering.
“We have traced many suspicious accounts
linked with the ex-Army boss. Most of these
accounts have been frozen.
“Some of our operatives have been working
on documents in the Office of National
Security Adviser (ONSA) on evidence relating
to these scandalous procurement deals.”
Responding to a question, the source said:
“The estate under forfeiture is so massive
and valued at about N4 billion.”
Section 7 of the EFCC Act says: “The
commission has power to (a) cause any
investigations to be conducted as to
whether any person, corporate body or
organisation has committed any offence
under this Act or other law relating to
economic and financial crimes.
“(b) Cause investigations to be conducted
into the properties of any person if it
appears to the commission that the person’s
lifestyle and extent of the properties are not
justified by his source of income.”
The Presidential Committee had established
that the ex-Chief of Army Staff has a case to
answer.
The report of the panel said in part: “The
Committee further established that between
March 2011 and December 2013, two
companies exclusively procured various
types of Toyota and Mitsubishi vehicles
worth over N2, 000,000,000.00 for the
Nigerian Army without any competitive
bidding.
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