TROUBLE: Falana, Afenifere, SERAP comes for embattled Buratai
– Groups and prominent Nigerians have call for a detailed investigation of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
– Falana said it was not the business of the Army to speak for Buratai on the allegations
Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, Nigeria’s chief of army staff
Groups and prominent Nigerians have call for a detailed investigation of the the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the purchase of $1.5m properties in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.
Sahara Reporters had reported that the Chief Of Army Staff and his two wives own $1.5m properties in Dubai.
SERAP’s executive director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, said for the anti-corruption war to be seen as fair, the anti-graft agencies must consider whether Buratai could afford the properties based on his financial records as a civil servant.
“The bulk stops at the table of the EFCC and the ICPC to investigate the COAS. Did Buratai and his two wives acquired the property in Dubai and paid for it in a single transaction? As a civil servant, how much has he received in salaries and emoluments? Are these big enough to acquire the properties? For the anti-corruption war to be seen as fair and not selective, the anti-graft agencies must investigate Buratai. It is their duty,” he said.
Also, the national publicity secretary of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, told PUNCH that Buratai should be probed over the allegation of the Dubai property scandal.
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“The defence the army put up for him is so silly to be believed outside the barracks. All the earnings of Buratai since he joined the army, if all were saved, cannot buy a house in Dubai, let alone two.
“The army also exposed itself as a lying institution when it said Buratai was never in charge of procurement in writing. The investigation should make Buratai to let the country know that he did other businesses to buy the property in question so that the integrity of the anti-corruption war can be intact.
“The house could only come legitimately through other businesses outside his pay. The savings from the salaries of any army officer in Nigeria cannot buy a house in Dubai.”
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, slammed the Nigeria Army for defending Buratai over the Dubai properties.
Falana said it was not the business of the Army to speak for Buratai on the allegations.
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“Buratai should willingly invite the CCB, the EFCC, the ICPC to look into the matter. If Buratai was alleged to have unjustly purchased the houses, he has to come out to defend himself. He must show how the money used to purchase the houses was transferred,” he said.
Recall that the Ministry of Defence had dismissed the controversy generated by an online media report over the ownership of two properties by Buratai’s family in Dubai.
The Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, said that the media report was an attempt by some persons to distract the leadership of the Armed Forces from the successful prosecution of the intensified campaign against terrorism in the North -East.
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