Posted by By MOLLY KILETE.Abuja on
Brig-Gen. Joseph Abdullahi currently standing trial in a military court for allegedly defrauding the Army of $35 million meant for peace-keeping operations has collapsed in the dock.
Brig-Gen. Joseph Abdullahi currently standing trial in a military court for allegedly defrauding the Army of $35 million meant for peace-keeping operations has collapsed in the dock.
Abdullahi who was in charge of peace-keeping operations at the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), Daily Sun learnt, suddenly collapsed in the heat of interrogation, causing the special military panel to adjourn the case abruptly.
Anxious colleagues of the general were said to have rushed him to the mini clinic at the DHQ, where doctors battled to save his life. He has since been discharged and placed under house arrest at the Mogadishu Cantonment officers mess.
Brig-Gen. Aminu Kano, the commandant of the Nigerian Army School of Finance and Administration in Lagos, is to be court-martialled in another case of financial mess unfolding in the Army. Daily Sun investigations revealed that following the discovery of the sudden disappearance of some undisclosed amount running into hundreds of millions of naira, Aminu Kano was given an option to retire voluntarily from service or face court martial.
According to Daily Sun sources, the general declined offer of safe landing given him by Army authorities. He agreed to appear before the court martial, threatening to drag the Nigerian Army to the court of law should he be forced to retire prematurely from service. Daily Sun also gathered that the refusal of the general to quietly withdraw from service is beginning to bring fear that he may open a can of worms that may affect many others in the Army.
Meanwhile, the court martial set up to try the former director of peacekeeping operations which was forced to adjourn following the collapse of the suspect resumed sitting Monday morning at the Officers Mess in Mogadishu Cantonment. Abdullahi was accompanied to the court martial venue by a medical doctor.