EFCC SET TO CONTINUE 2.1 BILLION DOLLARS ARMS DEAL PROBE

Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh rtd

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission will this week interrogate at least 16 military officers as part of its investigations into $2.1bn arms scandal.

Amongst those to be quizzed are the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh retired, and a former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal MD Umar also retired.

Masquerade234 gathered that a former Director of Production at the Defence Headquarters, Air Vice Marshal O. T. Oguntoyinbo would be quizzed too.

They are scheduled to be invited early in the week so as to appear before the commission on or before Friday.

Senator Musiliu Obanikoro

Meanwhile there are indications the EFCC may, also invite two sons of former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, for interrogation in connection with the ongoing probe into the $2.1bn arms fund diversion.

It was also gathered that the EFCC would send invitation to Gbolahan and Babajide Obanikoro so as to ensure that they also appear before the commission before the end of the week.

The commission has traced N4.75bn from the Central Bank of Nigeria Imprest Account of the National Security Adviser to Silva Mcnamara, a company linked to the Obanikoros, between June 6, 2014 and December, 12, 2015.

EFCC sources said the commission is probing Macnamara because there was no evidence of contract award for the release of the money to the company’s account

Meanwhile Sena­tor Musiliu Obanikoro says his sons are innocent and he challenged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to publish the names of the di­rectors and signatories to the al­leged Sylvan McNamara Lim­ited account and also state when the said money was paid instead of demonizing and deceiving Nigerians with vague, contrived and distorted information.

Obanikoro said he is ap­palled by the political persecution embarked upon by these agencies noting that there is nowhere in the world where investigations are conducted us­ing the pages of the newspapers.

In a signed statement issued by his Media Aide, Jonathan Eze, the former minister queried the “wisdom and logic of bandying figures and associating same with his sons who are thorough bred professionals in their own rights.

He told the EFCC that the court of law remains the judicial institution for trying cases and not whipping senti­ments in order to give the dog a bad name and hang it.