EFCC goes after ex-PDP chair Bello
After a month’s siege to his Abuja home and legal fireworks, former National Security Adviser (NSA) Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd.) was yesterday arrested for interrogation on the $2b phoney arms deals.
The Department of State Services (DSS) is to hand Dasuki over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC intensified its probe of the arms deals by arresting ex-Sokoto State Governor Attahiru Bafarawa and the Emeritus Chairman of Africa Independent Television (AIT), Chief Raymond Dokpesi.
Dokpesi was picked up for allegedly collecting N2.1billion from the Office of the NSA. Bafarawa allegedly got N100million cash.
One of the suspects in the EFCC’s custody is said to have refunded N200million.
He also pleaded for bail to refund about N1billion credited to him as diverted funds.
Dasuki was arrested early yesterday by a team of DSS operatives.
The ex-NSA’s arrest came barely 14 hours after a former Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda and 20 others were picked up by the EFCC.
Dasuki’s arrest ended a month-long siege to his Abuja home and a legal battle between him and the DSS.
A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The DSS operatives succeeded in having access to Dasuki’s mansion at John Kadiya Street in Asokoro District and arrested him.”
Dasuki was said to have surrendered to the EFCC team which effected his arrest. He is expected to appear before the Presidential Committee on Arms Procurement before being taken to the EFCC.
“Already, a panel of interrogators is awaiting the arrival of Dasuki in EFCC because some prime suspects, like Bashir Yuguda and ex-ONSA Director of Finance Shaibu Salisu, have written statements on how they got funds from the former NSA’s office.”
Bafarawa and Dokpesi are being held for allegedly “benefitting from the arms votes”.
A top source in EFCC said: “This agency arrested Dokpesi because records made available have shown that he collected N2.1billion from the Office of the National Security Adviser. We need to ask him what the allocation was meant for.
“Bafarawa, who was not a political appointee like Dokpesi, hauled N100million from the same office. No contract was traceable to the ex-governor. “Definitely, we are going through many payment vouchers and you will be shocked by our findings.”
Preliminary investigation by the EFCC revealed that most of the funds meant for arms purchase might have been used to finance the 2015 campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).
The source added: “From what some of the suspects admitted, the arms funds were diverted to the campaign of the PDP. In fact, we have launched a manhunt for a former National Chairman of PDP, Mohammed Bello Haliru.
“A suspect has offered to refund N200million out of the over N1billion given to him for the campaign. The suspect is begging the EFCC to grant him bail to source for the balance.
“Since Monday, lawyers have been battling to secure bail for most of the suspects. The EFCC is insisting on due process and stringent bail conditions to avoid any suspect escaping abroad.”
Source: The Nation Newspaper.