$44 million has reportedly vanished from the vault of the National Intelligence Agency NIA.
This comes months after N13 billion belonging to the agency was found
in an Ikoyi apartment belonging to the immediate past Director General
of the agency, Ayo Oke. DailyTrust revealed the recent development. Read how it was reported below
Two months after Ambassador Ayodele Oke was sacked as Director General of the National Intelligence Agency [NIA] and two days after Ahmed Rufa’i Abubakar
was appointed as its new DG, another scandal hit the intelligence
agency at the weekend when $44million in cash kept in its vaults in
Abuja was removed to an unknown destination. Daily Trust on Sunday
learnt from top security sources that the money was surreptitiously
removed even before the agency’s new DG resumes duty.
Tracing the origin of the money, the sources disclosed that the
Jonathan administration released over $260million to NIA as General
Intervention Fund. At the time Federal Government launched an
investigation into the funds last year, only the cash discovered in
Lagos and the $44million lying in the Abuja vault remained to be
expended out of the original $260million, the sources said.
As soon as it started its probe, the Osinbajo-led
committee directed that the money must remain in NIA’s vault as exhibit,
Daily Trust on Sunday learnt.The sources however said, “While the money
remained in the vault, certain powerful forces mounted pressure on the
acting DG, Ambassador Mohammed Dauda, who was redeployed from Chad, to
use the money since it is the property of the NIA but the acting DG
refused.”
According to our sources, the “powerful forces” pushed very hard for
the money to be tampered with, saying government had forgotten all about
it, but for the firm resistance of the outgoing acting DG.
Our sources added, “But barely two days after President Buhari named a
substantive head for the agency, a black bullion van was dispatched to
NIA and the money was removed to an unknown destination around 6am on
Friday. The team that removed the money was accompanied by a serving
military officer who was posted to the intelligence outfit months ago as
the finance officer.” The total amount of money that was taken away
from NIA’s vaults on Friday was $44,285,996.
Daily Trust on Sunday learnt that the $43million that former DG Ambassador Ayodele Oke
kept at an Ikoyi apartment was part of the funds earlier released to
NIA by the Federal Government as General Intervention Fund. Oke was
fired from his job in October last year, six months after he was handed
an indefinite suspension following the discovery of the money at an
Ikoyi apartment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,
EFCC. When a whistle blower led EFCC to the money, NIA under Oke said
the money belonged to it and was meant for unspecified undercover
operations.
An investigative panel headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo probed
the matter and turned in a report to President Muhammadu Buhari which
indicted Oke in the scandal. Weeks after he received the report, Buhari
announced in October last year that he had accepted its recommendation
to terminate Oke’s appointment.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation [SGF] Babachir David Lawal was
also sacked on the same day based on the same committee’s report,
though for a separate offence. Apart from Osinbajo, other committee
members were National Security Adviser Major General Mohammed Monguno
and Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, SAN.
When Daily Trust on Sunday contacted the acting DG Ambassador
Mohammed Dauda yesterday, he neither denied nor confirmed the allegation
that money was moved from NIA’s vaults.
He however promised to investigate the matter and get back to us, but did not do so before we went to press.
$44 million has reportedly vanished from the vault of the National Intelligence Agency NIA.
This comes months after N13 billion belonging to the agency was found
in an Ikoyi apartment belonging to the immediate past Director General
of the agency, Ayo Oke. DailyTrust revealed the recent development. Read how it was reported below
Two months after Ambassador Ayodele Oke was sacked as Director General of the National Intelligence Agency [NIA] and two days after Ahmed Rufa’i Abubakar
was appointed as its new DG, another scandal hit the intelligence
agency at the weekend when $44million in cash kept in its vaults in
Abuja was removed to an unknown destination. Daily Trust on Sunday
learnt from top security sources that the money was surreptitiously
removed even before the agency’s new DG resumes duty.
Tracing the origin of the money, the sources disclosed that the
Jonathan administration released over $260million to NIA as General
Intervention Fund. At the time Federal Government launched an
investigation into the funds last year, only the cash discovered in
Lagos and the $44million lying in the Abuja vault remained to be
expended out of the original $260million, the sources said.
As soon as it started its probe, the Osinbajo-led
committee directed that the money must remain in NIA’s vault as exhibit,
Daily Trust on Sunday learnt.The sources however said, “While the money
remained in the vault, certain powerful forces mounted pressure on the
acting DG, Ambassador Mohammed Dauda, who was redeployed from Chad, to
use the money since it is the property of the NIA but the acting DG
refused.”
According to our sources, the “powerful forces” pushed very hard for
the money to be tampered with, saying government had forgotten all about
it, but for the firm resistance of the outgoing acting DG.
Our sources added, “But barely two days after President Buhari named a
substantive head for the agency, a black bullion van was dispatched to
NIA and the money was removed to an unknown destination around 6am on
Friday. The team that removed the money was accompanied by a serving
military officer who was posted to the intelligence outfit months ago as
the finance officer.” The total amount of money that was taken away
from NIA’s vaults on Friday was $44,285,996.
Daily Trust on Sunday learnt that the $43million that former DG Ambassador Ayodele Oke
kept at an Ikoyi apartment was part of the funds earlier released to
NIA by the Federal Government as General Intervention Fund. Oke was
fired from his job in October last year, six months after he was handed
an indefinite suspension following the discovery of the money at an
Ikoyi apartment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,
EFCC. When a whistle blower led EFCC to the money, NIA under Oke said
the money belonged to it and was meant for unspecified undercover
operations.
An investigative panel headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo probed
the matter and turned in a report to President Muhammadu Buhari which
indicted Oke in the scandal. Weeks after he received the report, Buhari
announced in October last year that he had accepted its recommendation
to terminate Oke’s appointment.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation [SGF] Babachir David Lawal was
also sacked on the same day based on the same committee’s report,
though for a separate offence. Apart from Osinbajo, other committee
members were National Security Adviser Major General Mohammed Monguno
and Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, SAN.
When Daily Trust on Sunday contacted the acting DG Ambassador
Mohammed Dauda yesterday, he neither denied nor confirmed the allegation
that money was moved from NIA’s vaults.
He however promised to investigate the matter and get back to us, but did not do so before we went to press.
No comments:
Post a Comment