Reps committee to probe disappearance of $44m from agency's vault

The House of Representatives has charged the Committee on National Security and Intelligence to investigate the alleged disappearance of the sum of $44 million from the vault of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).

During its first plenary session of the year on Tuesday, January 16, 2018, Honourable Douye Diri introduced a motion on the reported disappearance that allegedly happened around the time President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Ahmed Abubakar as the agency's new Director General.

While speaking on Tuesday, Diri, the representative of the Yenagoa/ Kolokuma/Opokuma constituency in Bayelsa state, described the incident as an unfortunate one that should be probed "for urgent national interest".

He said, "These issues paint a poor picture of our national security and dents the reputation of the agency in the eyes of the public.

"We must bear in mind that the agency represents us not only in Nigeria but in the eyes of the international community.

"So we should immediately look into these matters in a bid to resolve them because if the image we present before other countries remains dented this way, then we are doomed."

While backing up Diri's motion, Honourable Toby Okechukwu, representing Aninri/Agwu/Oji-Uzo constituency in Enugu state, described the incident as a "monumental embarrassment", especially as it is coming on the heels of the controversial Ikoyi loot that led to the dismissal of the agency's former DG, Ayodele Oke.

The committee was directed to report back on its findings in two weeks.