Arms Fraud: DSS Probe Gets Messier, Widen probe to offices of NSA, Defence Minister, CSO petitions DSS

Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Services, has been
asked to extend its ongoing probe to the offices of the National
Security Adviser, NSA, occupied by Major-General Babagana Monguno
(retd.) and the Minister of Defence, Brigadier-General Muhammad
Dan-Ali (retd.).
DSS OPERATIVES The Nigeria Concerned Citizen Assembly (NCCA), made
this request in a letter written to the DSS on June 27, 2016, and
obtained by Vanguard. This came following the arrest of a member of
the Presidential Investigative Committee on Arms Procurement, Air
Commodore Umar Muhammed (retd.) by the DSS.

According to the group, the arrested committee member allegedly
indicted both men as key influence in the syndicate. In its letter to
the Director-General, DSS, the CSO asked the secret police to dig deep
into the case and ensure no stone is left unturned in bringing the
culprits to book. The letter signed by its Convener, Dr Abraham
Odukoya, read in part: “It may interest you to know that Air Commodore
Muhammed (rtd) owns a guest house valued at N3.2 Billion within the
highbrow area of the FCT -Abuja where he plays host to the Minister of
Defence who actually attained his present position due to the
influence of Air Commodore Muhammed.
This is a clear indication that the allegation that the duo are
collaborators in crime and benefited from the arms procurement fraud
may not be false after all.” It also warned that the sincerity of the
agency in carrying out the investigation would be a test of the
commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government’s to its
campaign promise to tackle corruption.
The group which said the DSS could be on the verge of making history
in the anti-corruption war given the calibre of those it is currently
investigating, has raised concerns that the ONSA and Minister of
Defence are already using their clout and connections to block the
investigation after the level of their involvement was revealed. NCCA
expressed concerns that “highly placed individuals” are out to scuttle
the investigation given the concerted efforts they have been making in
this regard since the arrest of Air Commodore Muhammed (rtd).
The group which backed the arrests made by the DSS insisted that the
agency must conduct a thorough and impartial investigation. “We are
poised now more than ever before to kill this notion that high and
mighty persons are above the law and cannot be touched even when they
commit heinous crimes.
“We at NCCA are solidly behind you and call on you and the entire
leadership of the DSS to continue to distinguish yourselves by
ensuring that you get to the bottom of this arms procurement fraud in
such a manner that no person, no matter how highly placed, is left off
the hook,” it demanded. The assembly warned that those involved in the
fraud could constitute the greatest security threat to the nation if
they are allowed to walk the country free with the proceeds of their
crime. “The security implication of allowing those who have looted
such huge amount on of money hang around freely and perhaps even use
the monies to influence decisions in Nigeria is best analysed by your
office,” the letter declared.