Former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu (retd.) might find himself in serious mess after indications emerged that he has dared the EFCC by refusing to return the funds and contract sums traced to him.
Former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu
A former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu (retd.), might be at loggerheads with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission after he allegedly opted out of a deal to return contract sums traced to him.
According to a Punch report, the commission had asked Amosu and others, who are still being detained over the $2.1bn arms deal to refund some money or contract sums traced to them.
Findings showed that the former Chief of Air Staff was being interrogated in connection with 10 contracts awarded by the Nigeria Air Force between 2014 and 2015, totaling $930.5m.
The report went further to say that EFCC’s operatives met a brick wall when the former NAF chief refused to make any commitment to return any money or contract sums, which had been allegedly traced to him.
A source however revealed that the commission was making the signing of an undertaking to refund money as a precondition for granting the suspects administrative bail. The source, who did not state the amount the former chief of air staff had been asked to pay, said, “As part of efforts to recover funds looted from the NSA office, suspects are being asked to write an undertaking that they will return the money before granting them administrative bail.
“Among others, Amosu is being quizzed over $930m contracts by the Air Force, but the commission had not made the progress it desires because he has not signed any undertaking to return any money. He has not provided the information the commission is looking for.”
EFCC investigators had quizzed Amosu on the circumstances surrounding the procurement of two used Mi-24V Helicopters instead of the recommended Mi-35M series at cost of $136.9m which was said to have been overpriced and not operationally airworthy at the time of delivery.
A brand new unit of such helicopters costs about $30m which made the transactions suspicious.