Posted by By MOLLY KILETE, Abuja and PHILIP NWOSU, Lagos on
The Military Headquarters in Abuja has constituted a court-martial to try the Director of Peace Keeping Operations in the Defence Headquarters, Brigadier General Joseph Abdullahi, for allegedly defrauding the military of $35 million.
The Military Headquarters in Abuja has constituted a court-martial to try the Director of Peace Keeping Operations in the Defence Headquarters, Brigadier General Joseph Abdullahi, for allegedly defrauding the military of $35 million.
The military court, which was inaugurated in Abuja Tuesday, is to commence sitting today, but the Director of Defence Information Brigadier General Ganiyu Adewale told Daily Sun in a telephone chat that for some logistics reason it may not commence.
He declined further comments on the issue.
The court-martial was coming just as President Obasanjo launches the first batch of the presidential car loan for military officers.
Abdullahi who was appointed Director of Peacekeeping at the DHQ two years ago, was said to have defrauded the department of the huge amount meant for peace keeping operations sometime last year.
Daily Sun gathered that some officers who had noticed the sudden disappearance of foreign exchange running into over $50 million early this year had alerted the Army authorities, who immediately swung into action and set up an investigating team to look into the matter.
It was further learnt that officers from the intelligence unit of the Nigerian Army, who investigated the alleged fraud were said to have found the Brigadier General guilty of the allegations, in its report submitted to the authorities.
On receiving the report of the committee, sources at the DHQ told Daily Sun, that the Defence Headquarters directed the Army Headquarters, Garrison, to set up a court-martial to try the officer who has since been placed under open house arrest over his role in the missing fund.
When Daily Sun visited the Army Headquarters, Garrison Wednesday, the commander, Major-General N.N. Madza, was not available for comments. However, DHQ sources said that the court martial would be sworn-in today.
The court martial, headed by Maj-Gen. Atambi, it was learnt, will be using the Officers Mess at the Mogadishu Cantonment as venue of its sitting.
The accused officer, Gen. Abdullahi, has hired a lawyer for his defence at the court-martial. The attorney, who was also at the Mogadisu Cantonment Wednesday to meet with the commander, however, left for the Army Headquarters when he was told that the commander had gone out for official engagement.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government will today launched car loan for military personnel. The event slated for 10am at the Mogadishu Cantonment, Abuja, was to have been launched in Kaduna last Monday, but was called off following the death of the state deputy governor, Engineer Stephen Shekari, Sunday.
The loan, now known as the Pioneer Consumer Car Finance Scheme for Public Servants, is for Peugeot 206, 306 and 406 cars, and was promised military officers by Obasanjo last year as part of his administration's bid to bring back some of those benefits hitherto enjoyed by military officers in the past.
The delay in the distribution of the cars has been tied to the inability of both the military authorities and the consortium of banks to get the president to seal the deal.