Since President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office and launched his anti-corruption drive, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has swung into action arresting members of the previous government fir graft. Known as Dasukigate, the arms scandal in which money meant to supply the military was diverted into private accounts has been the most high profile case so far.
Over recent weeks, several leading members of Dr Jonathan's Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have been arrested in connection with the case and more arrests are expected. There were indications last night that more former ministers and some ex-public officers might be picked up soon, creating unease in the Jonathan camp.
Over the last week, the EFCC has also traced more than N8bn (£28m) curious withdrawals from the Central Bank of Nigeria to an account tagged Ministry of External Affairs Research Library. About N3.425bn of the N8bn withdrawn from the account was taken out for so-called special purposes after the 2015 presidential elections.
Investigation revealed that the anti-graft agency might arrest more suspects over the mismanagement of arms funds because of fresh clues. It is believed that some of the suspects, who have sneaked out of the country after the account was found, might be declared wanted.
One of the affected ex-public officers is alleged to have used the arms cash to rent an apartment in posh Asokoro District in Abuja for his girlfriend at N26m per year. He was alleged to have paid N78m for three years, besides the agency fee for the upmarket property.
One EFCC source said: “The ongoing investigation has led to the uncovering of looting of funds meant for arms procurement. Some ex-ministers in ex-President Jonathan’s cabinet and a few public officers will certainly be arrested to explain their roles in the alleged diversion of the funds."
Another source added: “Even from the outset, the payment schedule was strange as the nation has only Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry of External Affairs was last used by the federal government during the military era, which ended on May 29, 1999, so, we will unmask those behind the operation of the Presidential Villa Coded Account and the beneficiaries of these funds.”
One source close to Dr Jonathan, said some of his loyalists are of the opinion that all those invited by the EFCC should go and account for their activities in office. So far, however, most arrested suspects said they either acted on Dr Jonathan’s instructions or ran errands for him, adding that they cannot be held accountable for the directives of the commander-in-chief.
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