The pervasive corruption in the country was brought to the fore on Friday again on Friday as the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, disclosed how a former military chieftain took a sum of N4bn from military budget and deposited it into the accounts of two companies where he is the beneficial owner and sole signatory.
Owasanoye spoke at an event tagged, ‘National Policy Dialogue on Corruption and Insecurity in Nigeria’, held at the ICPC headquarters in Abuja.
He said, “Some former military and security personnel are being investigated by the ICPC and our sister agency (the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) for embezzlement of funds allocated to security.
“For example, a former head of one of the arms of the military, in the twilight of his tenure, deposited the sum of N4bn from military budget into the accounts of two companies where he is the beneficial owner and sole signatory.
“The proceeds were used to purchase properties in Abuja in the names of cronies and proxies. Some of the properties paid for by his service were also fraudulently converted to his use.
“While the commission has filed a notice of appeal, this strange development aggravates an already bad situation and escalates insecurity and impunity.”
But ICPC boss said the prosecution of the case was frustrated by a judge who recently retired.
“ICPC’s prosecution of this high ranking officer to recover all the implicated assets was strangely and perversely frustrated by a recently retired High Court judge who decided to forfeit some of the assets to FGN and the rest left to the suspect.”
The ICPC boss said that the proceeds from the stolen funds were used to purchase properties in Abuja in the names of cronies and proxies of the military chief, and some of the properties paid for by his service were also fraudulently converted to his use.
Owasanoye regretted that investigations by the National Security Agency and the ICPC over insecurity indicate that public sector corruption directly and indirectly increase breach of national security.
He also revealed job racketeering within the military adding that his commission is probing the issue.