Former President Goodluck Jonathan’s
ex-aide-de-camp Col. Ojogbane Adegbe and two other army officers will be
interrogated by a military panel, The PUNCH has learnt.
It was learnt in Abuja on Sunday that
the military authorities would this week set up a panel to interrogate
the three officers on their roles in the $2.1bn arms scam.
Saturday PUNCH had exclusively reported
on February 27 that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had
handed over Adegbe to the military authorities.
Also in the custody of the military
authorities are Col. Nicholas Ashinze, who was a Military Assistant to
the late former National Security Adviser Gen. Owoye Azazi and his
successor Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), and another unnamed colonel.
The colonels are being investigated in
connection with the ongoing probe into arms procurement under the
Jonathan administration.
A top official of the EFCC confirmed the EFCC handed the officers to the army on Friday morning.
It was learnt that Adegbe is being held at the Mogadishu Cantonment in Abuja, alongside his colleagues.
Adegbe was undergoing a National Defence
College Course in the United Kingdom before he was recalled on
February 10 to answer questions in connection with the ongoing arms
probe.
The EFCC took him into custody on February 11 and questioned him until he was handed over to the army on February 26.
The EFCC had said that Adegbe had maintained his position that he did not receive any money from Dasuki.
The former ADC also refused to name the
politicians, who allegedly received money from him, insisting that he
was neither involved in the collection nor distribution of the funds
meant for arms.
However, the EFCC has not given the details of the involvement of the military personnel in the ongoing arms probe.
The source said, “Adegbe and one other colonel have been handed over to the military.
“They were handed over to the military
on Friday morning. I think they were taken to Mogadishu Cantonment. They
are going to face a military panel in the next few days.”
However, the Acting Director, Defence
Information, Brig.-Gen. Rabe Abubakar, said that he was not aware that
the officers had been handed over to the military.
Abubakar, who spoke in a telephone
conversation with one of our correspondents on Sunday, said that the
position of the military on the ongoing probe was clear.
He said, “Our position has always been
that whosoever is involved should go and clear his name. The military is
in total support of the ongoing probe. It is just a probe. If at the
end of the day they are found not guilty, then the authorities know what
to do with them.
“But what we know is that we are solidly
in support of the EFCC’s probe of some civilian and military personnel
who are alleged to be involved in the arms deal. So whether they are
with the EFCC or the military is immaterial. The most important thing is
their cooperation and support.
“You see, we should not bring media
trial into this kind of thing. As I am talking with you, I don’t know if
there is anybody that has been handed over to the military. However,
our stand is clear. Whether they are with the military or not, the most
important thing is that they are somewhere being investigated in this
kind of thing.
“And I think that is the most
significant point that people should focus on, not where they are.
Whether they are with the military or with whatever organisation, we are
working for the same government and we are all working for the nation
and we are all working to achieve a common purpose, and we want to be
seen doing that at all times.”
Copyright PUNCH.
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