- A Washington-based group has reacted to the murder of two retired senior military officers in Nigeria
- The group says the murder of both officers was not a mere coincidence
- A former Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, and a former Chief of Administration of the Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Idris Alkali were murdered within four months
A Washington-based group, International Strategic Studies Association, has stated that the death of a former Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, and that of a former Chief of Administration of the Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Idris Alkali, was not a mere coincidence.
Alkali was allegedly killed by a gang of protesting youths along Jos-Bauchi road on Monday, September 3, while Badeh was gunned down along the Abuja-Keffi road by suspected assassins on Tuesday, December 18.
ISSA, a non-governmental organisation with a worldwide membership of professionals involved in national and international security and strategic policy, stated in a special report on Friday, December 28, that the two men were killed to hide what it described as the pattern of corruption in the current military leadership in the country.
Specifically, the report obtained by The Punch alleged that Badeh was murdered to prevent him from divulging in court details of corruption which it said had grown even more rampant in the current defence leadership.
The report noted that the President Muhammadu Buhari was unwilling to publicise the findings of the arms panel which was presented to him over a year ago.
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“The commission investigating defence procurement from 2007 onwards made significant strides which were initially accepted by the Buhari government, until the scope of the inquiry went beyond the period relating to the former government of President Goodluck Jonathan and began to show corruption patterns extending into officers still serving under President Buhari,” the report said.
It said the pending 2019 elections of a new government may prove the undoing of a significant number of generals, admirals, and air marshals “who lost the war because they concentrated solely on using the conflict as a way to boost defence budgets, which they then, to an overwhelming extent, stole.”
It continued: “The level of panic among the senior leadership has now reached the point where senior government, military, and national security staff have been attempting to suppress -through assassination and intimidation - the members of the official commission of enquiry established by President Buhari when he first took office, to investigate defence procurement corruption.
“Given the upsurge in momentum by ‘the highest levels of government’ to stop the findings becoming public from the corruption commission on defence procurement, it is plausible that the attribution of a criminal ‘kidnapping-attempt-gone-wrong’ against the Air Chief Marshal was a convenient excuse to ensure that the victim - Badeh - could not divulge in court the pattern and details of corruption which has grown even more rampant in the current generation of defence leadership.”
It blamed the massive corruption among top military chiefs appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari as the reason Nigeria was losing the war against Boko Haram.
According to the report, the insurgent groups were growing stronger and the government forces growing weaker and more beset by morale collapse.
“It is fair to say that the Nigerian intelligence community itself is no longer sure what groups even comprise ‘Boko Haram’, nor has it addressed the international logistical, ideological, and support aspects contributing to the ongoing viability of the groups,” the report added.
The report further stated that the leadership of the military, rather than concentrating on how to defeat the insurgents, were preoccupied with how to stop the leakage of information about the massive corruption that had taken place on the pretext of fighting Boko Haram.
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Recall that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) had earlier warned members of the public to deviate from spreading misinformation concerning the death Badeh.
The NAF specifically denied insinuations that adequate security was not provided for the deceased Air Chief Marshal.
A statement by NAF spokesman, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, sent to Legit.ng on Thursday, December 20 noted, with dismay, “some erroneous reports and comments in the media regarding the unfortunate incident that led to the death of former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, on 18 December 2018.”
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