Posted by From Daniel Ior in Makurdi on
Former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Victor Malu, has raised alarm over an alleged threat to his life, attributing it to his criticism of some of the Federal Government's policies and actions.
Former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Victor Malu, has raised alarm over an alleged threat to his life, attributing it to his criticism of some of the Federal Government's policies and actions.
Malu, in a press conference at the weekend, in Makurdi, said government appears so untiring at the plot, that some establishments appear to have been employed to also possibly tarnish his reputation at all costs.
He said 'recently the State Security Services (SSS) shortly on my return from Paris, seized my International Passport over framed- up allegations that 'I was going to Paris frequently and was holding meetings with people who do not mean well for the country."
Besides, he said his military service records were declared missing shortly after he left service, a discovery made when he went to Bonny Camp, Lagos, to participate in a verification exercise for retired military personnel.
According to him, 'I took my time and drove to Bonny Camp with
my security officer, and I went to see Colonel Arogbofa,
Chairman of the verification board. He checked through his records, looked at me and said, ‘sir I don't know how I can explain this to you, but by the papers I have here with me, your name is not on the records of the Nigerian Army. I will advise
that you go to Lokoja to complete the forms and take them to Abuja before you bring them back to Lagos'."
Malu, said he was however particularly concerned about a recent attempt to use the Military Pensions Board (MPB), to frame up a smear campaign against his person.The MPB, according to him, had not only deliberately underpaid him in the first instance, what they paid to him was in gross violation of all known conditions of military service.
He said for instance, on his retirement with two other service chiefs, Chief of Naval Staff and the Chief of Air staff, all of who
were his juniors and had less war-time years of service, the others, were paid higher gratuity.
He said he was particularly concerned that despite all these, the MPB went ahead to publish statements insinuating that ' I was overpaid my gratuity and had flown to London after collecting the money."
He said this was unfair, because when the issue came up, he told the MPB that it was unlikely that such a mistake could happen, bearing the fact that 'the Pensions Board is supposed to be computerised, so if you don't know what you are paying to a General in the army, now I can see why a lot of soldiers have
been dying while waiting for pensions and gratuity because only God knows who has been collecting their money."
He explained that he was aware that the entire plot was to silence him from criticising the government of President Obasanjo because even that was the case the simple thing would have been to calculate my pension 'considering my seniority and the number of war-time years I had served and then the pension that I had not received since I collected the cheque for my gratuity. So I know the total sum that I am supposed to return to the Pensions Board."
According to Malu, this was the agreement between him and the chairman of the MPB. But rather than do so the MPB wrote a letter to him, used a non existent address, despite the fact that they have addresses of my houses in Lagos, Abuja and Makurdi, and rooted it through Wukari and quickly went to press that I defrauded the Pensions Board and went away with money." He said noting, 'My name is the only correct thing in this address."