10 things you should know about ex army chief’s return of N1.7B

Major General Kenneth Minimah who served as Chief Of Army Staff (COAS) from January 2014 to July 2015, has reportedly returned the princely sum of N1.7billion to the federal government coffers.

Here are 10 things worth noting about this story:

1. Minimah served as head of the army under former president Goodluck Jonathan.

2. The former COAS was replaced by Tukur Buratai when Muhammadu Buhari took over as Nigeria’s democratically elected president.

3. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been quizzing Minimah since 2015.

4. It is believed that the returned N1.7billion is part of the missing $2.1billion which has kept Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd) in prison since 2015.

5. You see, EFCC investigators believe that money meant to procure arms for soldiers to battle Boko Haram in the past, was often stolen by top military officers.

Arms procurement

6. This Minimah money allegedly came from the federal budget that was supposed to buy equipment for soldiers in the battlefield.

7. Minimah was found culpable following extensive recommendations by the Presidential Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement (CADEP), which has been investigating how money grew wings in the military since 2007.

8. It was actually a source at the EFCC who told The Nation newspaper that Minimah had returned this money.

The source was quoted as saying: “We have iand he has started refunding some funds. So far, he has refunded about N1.7billion in two tranches to the EFCC.

“So far, he has cooperated with us and we are hopeful that he will still make more refunds, in line with some contracts awarded by the Army.

“But we are likely to arraign another Chief of Army Staff and some ex-military officers in court soon following the conclusion of a comprehensive investigation on them. We are expecting relevant advice from our legal unit.”

How defence monies grew wings

9. To understand how monies often disappeared in military circles in the past, here’s a summary: Contracts are awarded to buy arms.

These contracts are called ‘phony’ because the costs for procuring them are inflated. In some instances, no weapons are purchased; leaving soldiers with the ordeal of confronting a more sophisticated Boko Haram with ‘shakabulas’ and stuff like that.

10. Minimah isn’t the only former military chief who is being quizzed for the disappearance of monies meant for procurement of arms for soldiers.

Alex Badeh (former Chief of Air Staff), Azubuike Ihejirika (former Chief of Army Staff) and Adesola Amosu (former Chief of Air Staff) have also been singing in EFCC custody since 2015.