Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Tukur Buratai, and his two
wives are joint owners of a Dubai property that was paid for in onetransaction. Investigations by SaharaReporters indicated that the money
for the purchase of the property may have come from a vehicle contract
scam while Mr. Buratai was the Director of Procurement at the Army HQ.
Our correspondents discovered that the Nigerian Army had awarded an
apparently bogus contract for the supply of vehicles and motorcycles for
the use of troops involved in an anti-terrorism offensive in Nigeria’s
beleaguered northeastern zone.
The allegation that General Buratai might have pilfered funds meant for the
purchase of military vehicles has sparked outrage among soldiers and
officers, especially those from the northeast part of the country. Two
military sources disclosed that irate officers had petitioned President
Muhammadu Buhari, urging him to order an investigation into the contract
scam.
In the petition, exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters, the aggrieved
soldiers and officers, under the umbrella of Concerned Soldiers and Officers
From the North East, accused the COAS of executing the contract through
a proxy of his. According to the petitioners, the proxy’s name is Usman
Gamawa, founder of Baggash Investment Limited.
The petition stated that, rather than supply new vehicles as the contract
demanded, Mr. Baggash purchased second-hand vehicles and motorcycles
from Niger Republic. On arrival in Nigeria, the vehicles were then
refurbished at Mogadishu Cantonment under the supervision of Staff
Sergeant Dadan Garba. SaharaReporters learned that some of the vehicles
and motorcycles had since broken down.
“If President Buhari can give service chiefs enough money to buy
equipment, why are they buying old ones?” asked the petitioners, who
added that General Buratai was exposing troops to grave danger and
undermining the war against Boko Haram terrorists.
The disaffected soldiers and officers alleged that the property the COAS
and his wives acquired in Dubai was bought from a company, SIGMA 111
Limited. They attached a document showing the purchase agreement.
According to the document, General Buratai and his wives had, on January
13, 2013, reached an agreement with the seller for the purchase of the
property, Project TFG Marina Hotel, Unit 2711. The asking price was AED
1,542,000.00 (or $419,826.06 or N120m). They alleged that General
Buratai paid a total sum of AED 1,498, 534.00 (N115.6m) because the
sellers gave concessions of AED 43,466, made up of “incentives,
promotions, and early payment bonus.”
The agreement indicating full payment for the house and the handing over
of ownership to the Buratais was signed on January 13, 2014. The
document identified the COAS as “Mr. Tukur Yusuf Buratai, holder of
passport No. A04250623.” The general’s wives were identified as Mrs.
Aishatu Tukur Buratai, holder of passport No. A03400260, and Mrs. Umar
Kalsum Tukur Buratai, holder of passport No. A03239920.
The petitioners further claimed that, since his appointment as COAS last
July, General Buratai had been making numerous hefty deposits in his
various bank accounts. For example, his Skye Bank account (1770380452)
received a deposit of N10 million on July 24, 2015. On August 7, 2015,
another N10 million was paid into the same account. Three days later, the
account was credited with yet another sum of N10 million. On August 11
and 17, N4 million and N3, 270,000 were credited to the account
respectively.
SaharaReporters contacted the owner of the phone number on the Skye
Bank Lodgement Voucher which was found to belong to a Major Adegbola,
according to TrueCaller. Mr. Adegbola confirmed to our correspondent that
he was “Major Adegbola” by saying “correct” but denied knowing Mr.
Buratai and later said that his name was actually Joshua. Sources
speaking to SaharaReporter said that the number on the voucher was of
Mr. Buratai’s middleman.
Contacted by our correspondent, an aide of General Buratai admitted that
the general owned a house in Dubai, but denied the allegation that the
COAS and his wives had purchased a home in Dubai by making a single
payment. “Please know that the allegation on the Chief of Army Staff and
members of his family owning a property in Dubai is an old one. It is a fact
that the family bought such property through personal savings and [it]was
paid for instalmentally since 2013. It may interest you to know that this
petition is not new because there was [a]similar allegation in March this
year, [but]it could not see the light of the day because there was no
substance in it,” said the source.
General Buratai’s spokesman added that some human rights organizations
and well-meaning individuals confirmed that information about his property
in Dubai was in the general’s assets declaration form. “The mentioned
assets were always declared in his asset declaration forms as Commander
MNJTF and the most recent one was when he was appointed Chief of
Army Staff in July 2015,” the aide stated.
He added: “As regards to the contractor, the Chief of Army Staff has
nothing to do with it. But when it came to his knowledge, he instituted a
commission of inquiry, which investigated it and made far-reaching
recommendations which were being implemented.” He said the inquiry
found out that the vehicles were not refurbished. Sahara Reporters
Buratai acquired Dubai properties with his
savings – Army
The Nigerian Army has denied reports that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen.
Tukur Buratai, and his two wives acquired a property in Dubai and paid for
it in a single transaction.
The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, said in a
statement on Saturday that while it was true that the Buratai family had
two properties in Dubai, they were bought with personal savings in 2013.
Usman said that the Army chief had consistently declared the properties
along with other properties in his assets declaration form as Commander,
Multinational Joint Task Force and the Chief of Army Staff.
He described the report as a smear campaign which was designed to
malign the image of the Chief of Army Staff.
He said that similar moves to smear the image of the COAS in March 2016
could not fly because the allegations by the ‘Concerned Citizens’ were
untrue.
He said the “Concerned Soldiers and Officers from the North East” who
raised the allegation in a petition obtained by an online news agency was
obviously nonexistent.
Usman also described as untrue the claim that the huge lodgments were
being made into an account owned by the COAS at Skye Bank.
He said, “It is pertinent to state that the Chief of Army Staff does not have
any account with Skye Bank as alleged, let alone making deposits in the
imaginary bank account to the tune of the amount stated in the write-up. \
“Similarly, he has not been involved in any form of shady or dishonest
transaction, not to talk of “contract scam”.
“In addition, General Buratai was never near either Defence Headquarters or
Army Headquarters in 2013. It is pertinent to also note that he was never
a Director of procurement in Army Headquarters as alleged.
“As a matter of fact, the Nigerian Army never had a Directorate of
Procurement till when he established one last year when he became Chief
of Army Staff.” Punch
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