Boko Haram in trouble as FG reportedly releases $877m to buy more arms for soldiers

- About $877 million has reportedly been released by the federal government for the procurement of military equipment

- Not less than $1 billion was recently approved by the National Assembly for the same purpose of military empowerment

- A member of the Senate committee on defence, however, said it was not aware that the fund had been released

Emerging reports have claimed that out of the $1 billion approved by the National Assembly for the procurement of military equipment, $877 million has been released by the federal government.

The Nation reports that $496,374,470 was released from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) for the purchase of Super Tucano aircraft from the United States.

A source said besides, $380,513,958.71 was released (as first tranche) for the procurement of critical equipment for the Army, the Navy and the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).

These releases along with other deductions may have contributed to the depletion of the ECA from $3.502 billion in January to $631 million in December 2018.

A source in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) confirmed that $876m had since been released to the military. But the source did not give the exact date when the payout was made.

The source also disclosed that the ECA had an opening balance of $3.502 billion in January 2018, made up of $2.451 billion as balance brought forward on the January 1, 2018 and additional inflows of $1.052 billion.

A member of the Senate committee on defence said it was not aware that the fund had been released. He spoke of how some members of the committee made inquiries, but were not told that part of the $1 billion had been released.

He said: “We are actually in the dark as far as the issue is concerned. It is an important issue. When the Chief of Army Staff said they had not received the money as approved by the National Assembly, some of us made enquiries.

“May be because of the security nature of the fund, the authorities may not want details of the releases to be known. We will definitely follow up, although it may not be for public consumption because of the security implications.

“We may have to invite relevant authorities to brief us,” the senator, who did not want his identity disclosed, told one of our reporters.''

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that the Nigerian Army reacted to a video showing a soldier lamenting over lack of weaponry to fight the Boko Haram insurgents.

In the video which was posted on Twitter by @DanBorno, the soldier calls out the Army for providing soldiers with AK-47's which they are expected to use in waging war against superiorly-armed terrorists.

The soldier announces that himself and his colleagues were going home; and that the Army should contact them when it was ready to provide the necessary weapons needed for them to do their jobs.

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