The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed a criminal charge against a former chief of army staff, Lt.-General Kenneth Minimah (rtd) over alleged diversion of N13 billion meant for procurement of arms.
Minimah was charged before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) alongside a former chief of accounts and budget (Army), Maj.-General A. O. Adetayo (rtd), and former director, finance and accounts (Army), R. I. Odi.
The EFCC, in its filings, said the report from the Committee on the Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement in the Nigerian Armed Forces (CADEP) it received on August 15, 2016, alleged that between 2010 and 2015, “several billions of Naira were received by the Nigerian army from the federal government for procurement of military hard-wares and were discovered to have been misappropriated by senior army officers.”
It said the report revealed that the defendants misappropriated the sum of N13,798,619,309.
“The sums were transferred from various accounts belonging to the Nigerian army and moved to company accounts of entities that had no business relations with the Nigerian army,” the EFCC stated.
“This caused huge loss to the Nigerian army and the federal government of Nigeria through the unlawful gains made by the aforementioned officers who converted the monies for their personal use.
“The legal advice on the investigation opined that a prima facie case has been sustained against the Officers.”
The anti-graft agency said it filed the suit against the defendants based on its findings, and requested the three officers to make themselves available for arraignment.
However, the defendants have filed a suit before a Federal High Court in Abuja, challenging the legality of the charges preferred against them.
