Nigerian Military Chiefs Summoned Over Seized $9.3m

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Defence and Army, Senator George Sekibo, has said the committee has invited the National Security Adviser and the military top brass over the $9.3m cash seized by the South African government.

Sekibo said this in an interview with reporters in Abuja, on Thursday.

Those invited include Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.); Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshall Alex Badeh, and Chief of Army Staff, Kenneth Minimah, over the alleged $9.3m controversial arms procurement deal.

South African authorities had on Monday arrested two Nigerians and an Israeli with the huge sum in cash, flown in a private jet from Abuja.

Sekibo said the nation’s top military commanders were expected to appear before the Senate committee on Tuesday next week to brief the lawmakers on what transpired.

He said, “I have just called the Chief of Defence Staff, National Security Adviser and Chief of Army Staff. I don’t want to preempt issues because we have not heard details about it, but they will be here on Tuesday next week.”

While commenting on the just concluded military court martial and the death sentence passed on 12 soldiers, the committee chairman said he was not surprised.

He said as soldiers, the convicts were fully aware of the implication of mutiny, adding that before the judgment was passed, the army carried out its investigations before the commencement of the trial.

He further explained that soldiers were trained to kill, therefore killing was not a big deal to them.