The Nigeria media world was set abuzz on Friday with an allegation from no less a personality than the National Security Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari, Major General Babagana Monguno, that monies meant for the purchase of arms could have been misappropriated by the immediate-past Service Chiefs.
The affected military chiefs in question are Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin (retd.); Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd.); Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas (retd.); and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar (retd.)
Buratai, Olonisakin, Ibas and Abubakar served as military chiefs in Nigeria from July 2015 until January 2021, when President Muhammadu Buhari changed them following persistent calls by Nigerians. Nigerians showed disappointment with the performance of the former security chiefs, as the war against terror in the Northeast got messier while banditry in the rest of the country grew.
These generals have since been appointed non-career ambassadors of Nigeria, following their nomination by Buhari and subsequent clearance by the Senate.
“No one knows what happened to the money but by God’s grace, the president will investigate to find out whether the money was spent and where the arms went,” Monguno alleged in an interview with BBC Hausa on Friday.
Buhari appointed new services chiefs this year as follows: Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor; Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Ibrahim Attahiru; Chief of Naval Staff; Vice Admiral A.Z Gambo; and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Isiaka Amoo.
Monguno further alleged that the helmsmen have been unable to identify any of the arms that the funds were supposed to be used to procure.
“As long as there is no proper investigation, I will not say anything but the money is gone, the goods are not seen and the new Security Chiefs say they have not seen it.
“Some may be on their way from the United States, England or elsewhere, but now I don’t see them on the ground. The President has done his best to provide out-of-pocket funds but the goods have not been procured,” he added.
The allegation did not stand for long before it was countered by Monguno’s own office, in a statement.
“The attention of the Office of the National Security Adviser has been drawn to some media reports regarding Armed Forces equipment during an interview with the BBC Hausa service,” his office said in a statement.
“We would like to state that the NSA was quoted out of context as he did not categorically say that funds meant for arms procurement were missing under the Former Service Chiefs as reported or transcribed by some media outlets from the BBC interview.
“During the interview, the National Security Adviser only reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to deal decisively with insecurity and stated President Muhammadu Buhari’s continued commitment to providing all necessary support to the Armed Forces, including the provision of arms and equipment.
“In the interview, the National Security Adviser clearly informed the BBC reporter that Mr President has provided enormous resources for arms procurement but the orders were either inadequate or yet to be delivered and that did not imply that the funds were misappropriated under the former Service Chiefs.
“The NSA also informed the reporter that, Mr President is following up on the procurement process as is usual with contracts relating to military equipment, in most cases the process involves manufacturing, due diligence and tedious negotiations that may change delivery dates,” the NSA’s office said.
The NSA’s office disclaimer was prompted followed up by another from Presidential spokesman Garbu Shehu, who also clarified that no part of the $1b set aside for arms purchase was missing.
Speaking on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ programme, Shehu declared that it is impossible for funds meant for procuring military equipment are misappropriated under the Buhari administration.
Garba Shehu also explained the Armed Forces had made a lot of purchases but the army has been having a bit of a problem with procurement which has been “coming in bits and in pieces”.
“I want to assure you that nothing of that money is missing. The reference by it in the interview of the BBC in Hausa service by the national security adviser, I think, has been misconstrued and mistranslated.
“The NSA made two critical points. One is that we don’t have enough which is a statement of fact, and two; procurements made have not been fully delivered.
“In August 2018, they allowed the Nigerian government to buy 12 super Tucano aircraft suitable for the kind of war we are fighting in the north-east.
“In addition to that, other arms of the military have also made procurements. The navy has done nearly 100 percent of its procurement — equipment delivered.
“The air force has bought a number of attack helicopters — 35 helicopters from Ukraine. Some of them have been commissioned on national television.
“We have bought a lot of drones, but with the army, there have been problems with procurement. The equipment has been coming bits and in pieces.
“This is not ideal. In fact, our biggest procurement is coming from the UAE. As I speak to you now, it is held up in a situation the only diplomacy will resolve.
“We were talking to them last week; the Nigerian minister of defence actually had a meeting with the ambassador of the UAE to Nigeria and the idea is to resolve this so that the equipment held up will be released. We need them here.
“So all these procurements are ongoing; nothing you can buy on the shelf. NSA did not make accusations of misappropriation, because there is none in dealing with this matter.
“I have heard the interview on the radio and I think, reasonably, I have a good understanding of it. At no point did the NSA say that money appropriated and there are no arms to be seen.
“They have not been delivered; yes, that is correct, but the thing is that they are things you buy on order, not off the shelf.”
Despite these explanations, questions have been raised by groups as to the true position of the matter. One of such is a socio-political group, One Nigeria Movement, which has condemned Monguno’s denial.
The ONM alleged that the NSA was acting desperately to secure his job in spite of his “seeming failure” and to also shield himself from investigations.
The ONM said in a statement that what the NSA said on the BBC Hausa service was clear and unambiguous.
“What he said was that neither the money approved for arms purchase nor arms was met on the ground when the new service chiefs assumed office,” ONM said in a statement signed by its Convener, Ahmed Sodiq-Mugoro, and the Secretary, Babatunde Aliyu.
“He went further to say that a preliminary investigation showed the funds were missing and the equipment is nowhere to be found.
“So how was the NSA quoted out of context? Or was he that the BBC Hausa Service aired a different interview entirely from the one it had with the NSA?
“To us, Nigerians want to know the truth. Nigerians want to know what happened to the billions of dollars released to purchase arms.”
