President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the recommendation
of the Committee charged with investigating the Defence Equipment Procurement
from 2007 to 2015, for further investigation of those involved, after the
committee found a number of irregularities in the contract awards.
The approval followed the Third Interim Report of the
Presidential Committee on the Audit of Defence Equipment, which was released on
Thursday.
Among those to be investigated are 18 serving and retired
military personnel, 12 serving and retired public officials and 24 Chief
Executive Officers of Companies involved in the procurement. All were either
accounting officers or played key roles in the Nigerian Army procurement
activities during the period under review.
Those listed for further investigation include two former
Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. O.A. Ihejirika (Rtd) and Lt.-Gen. K.T.J. Minimah
(Rtd); former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs II, Dr Nurudeen Mohammed
and three former Permanent Secretaries in the Ministry of Defence - Mr. Bukar
Goni Aji, Mr. Haruna Sanusi and Me. E.O, Oyemomi.
Also, the CEOs to be investigated include Col. Olu Bamgbose
(Rtd) of Bamverde Ltd; Mr. Amity Sade of Doiyatec Comms Ltd and DYI Global
Services and Mr. Edward Churchill of Westgate Global Trust Ltd.
According to the Committee, the total amount spent for
procurement and operations within the period were N185,843,052,564.30 and
$685,349,692.49.
It found that the Nigerian Army Contracts awarded by the
Ministry of Defence for the period under review were often awarded without
''significant input from end-user (Nigerian Army) and to vendors who lacked the
necessary technical competence''.
''As an example, 3 contracts with a total value of
N5,940,000,000.00 were awarded to DYI Global Services Ltd and Doiyatec Comms
Nig. Ltd (owned by the same individuals) for the procurement of military
hardware including 20 units of KM-38 Twin Hull Boats and 6 Units of 4X4 Ambulances
fitted with radios. The committee found that the 2 companies collected
N5,103,500,000.00, representing 86% of the total value of the 3 contracts worth
N5,940,000,000.00, but only performed to the tune of N2,992,183,705.31,'' the
report said.
The committee also found that a contract worth
N169,916,849.77 for the procurement of 53 Armoured Vehicles Spare Parts, with
90 days completion time, is yet to be completed 5 years after.
With respect to contracts awarded directly by the Nigerian
Army, the Committee found that many of the contracts were characterized by
''lack of due process, in breach of extant procurement regulations and tainted
by corrupt practices.
''In this regard, a review of the procurement carried out by
Chok Ventures Ltd and Integrated Equipment Services Ltd established that
between March 2011 and December 2013, the 2 companies exclusively procured
various types of Toyota and Mitsubishi vehicles worth over N3,000,000,000.0 for
the Nigerian Army without any competitive bidding.
''Though the committee found no credible evidence of
delivery of the vehicles, the vendors were fully paid based on job completion
certificate authenticated by the then Chief of Logistics. Also, analysis of the
various bank accounts of the 2 companies showed transfers to individuals
related to then Chief of Army Staff," the report said
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