I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E ! EFCC Recovers $1m in ‘Soak-away’ At Ex-Air Chief Amosu’s House In Badagry!

A mind boggling sum of $3 million has been reportedly recovered by the anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the EFCC, starched away in a soak-away pit at the Badagry residence of the embattled past Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Adesola Amosu (rtd)

According to the source: “In continuation of the investigation into the arms probe, the EFCC operatives took Amosu to his residence in Badagry. After a thorough search of the residence, a fresh small ‘soakaway’ pit was discovered in the compound. The operatives suspected foul play, which informed the breaking of the ‘soakaway’. Surprisingly, $1 million was found in it. The money was subsequently confiscated.”

We also learnt that Air Commodore Akinwale (rtd) who manages the St. Solomon Health Care Limited, an ultra-modern diagnostic centre owned by Amosu, along Adeniyi Jones Avenue in Ikeja, Lagos is still in the custody of the EFCC. The retired airforce officer oversees the medical centre on behalf of Amosu.

The diagnostic centre has been sealed off by the anti-graft agency. Meanwhile, the EFCC is still keeping Amosu, Adigun, and Air Commodore O. Gbadebo in Lagos. A source said that the anti-graft agency has been taking the indicted officers to assets traced to them, considered to have been acquired through funds illegally realised from the arms procurement. Some of the identified properties have been sealed off.

Amosu, Adigun and Gbadebo were arrested two weeks ago in Abuja. Impeccable sources revealed that the trio were flown into Lagos in an airforce aircraft on a Sunday.

The arrest and interrogation of Amosu is coming after it was reported, that the Federal Government had directed the EFCC to prosecute the ex-CAS. Amosu, Adigun, Gbadebo and other indicted officers are being investigated over 10 NAF contracts totalling $930,500,690 awarded to Societe D’ Equipments Internationaux (SEI) Nig Ltd. between January 2014 and February 2015.

The award letters, according to the arms probe panel, contained misleading delivery dates, suggesting fraudulent intent in the award process.

Also discovered by the EFCC was the sum of N3 billion in one of the accounts of his wife, Lara Amosu, EFCC source revealed.

She has since been cooling her heels in the custody of the EFCC in Lagos for the past one week. It was learnt that her lawyer has been battling without success to get her released. Mrs. Amosu’s arrest followed the alleged discovery of about N3 billion in her bank accounts. She was allegedly holding the money in trust for her husband.

A source revealed that some other eye popping properties have also been traced to the former CAS that are being being held in trust by his wife and children.

The EFCC have also discovered a staggering N17.5 billion in the accounts of the wives of three airforce chiefs. The monies were reportedly uncovered in various banks accounts.

A source familiar with the investigation disclosed that N13 billion was traced to the bank accounts of a wife of a retired Air Vice Marshal, who held strategic position in the Nigeria Air Force (NAF). In the bank accounts of another wife of a serving senior officer, N1.5 billion was found.We learnt that the officers handled the finance, budget and accounts of NAF.

It was further learnt that the wife of Air Vice Marshal J.B. Adigun, Chief of Account and Budget of NAF, scampered out of the country two weeks ago, shortly after the arrest of her husband. Adigun has been indicted by the presidential arms panel. He is in the EFCC custody. Several of his properties in Lagos and Abuja have been seized by the antigraft agency. Billions of naira was said to have been traced to Adigun’s wife’s accounts.

Operatives are also grilling the ex-chief of army staff and the two senior officers over the procurement of two used Mi-24V Helicopters instead of the recommended Mi- 35M series at the cost of $136,944,000. The helicopters were discovered to be excessively priced and not operationally airworthy at the time of delivery.

The arms probe panel established that a brand new unit of Mi-24V Helicopter goes for about $30 million. The helicopters were delivered without rotor blades and upgrade accessories.

The three of them are also being grilled over the procurement of four used Alpha-Jets for the NAF at the cost of $7,180,000. Whereas NAF paid for four used Alpha-Jets, the panel confirmed that only two of the Alpha-Jet aircraft were ferried to Nigeria after cannibalisation of engines from the NAF fleet.

They are also being investigated in the procurement of 36D6 Low Level Air Defence Radar for NAF, which was awarded to GAT Techno Dynamics Ltd in April 2014 at the cost of $33 million under his watch.

The arms panel averred that the radars were excessively priced as a complete set of such radars goes for $6 million.

Acting on the recommendations made by the 13-man presidential committee auditing arms procurement between 2007 and 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari, had ordered the EFCC to conduct further investigation on the indictment of Amosu, former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (rtd); Air Marshal M.D. Umar (Rtd), Maj- Gen. ER Chioba (Rtd), AVM I.A. Balogun (Rtd), AVM A.G. Tsakr (Rtd), AVM A.G. Idowu (Rtd), AVM AM Mamu, AVM O.T Oguntoyinbo, and AVM T Omenyi. Others were: AVM J.B. Adigun, AVM R.A. Ojuawo, AVM JA Kayode-Beckley, Air Cdre S.A. Yushau (Rtd), Air Cdre A.O. Ogunjobi, Air Cdre G.M.D. Gwani, Air Cdre SO Makinde, Air Cdre A.Y. Lassa, Col. N. Ashinze and Lt Col. M.S. Dasuki (Rtd). Badeh had been in the custody of EFCC since Monday. Over N29 billion and $2 billion had been expended on the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) procurement activities alone between 2007 and 2015.