*Ex-Defence Chief, Badeh still in custody
The latest to be hauled in for interrogation over the ongoing $2.1 billion arms probe is a top Air Force officer (names withheld), said to have been arrested on Sunday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. EFCC boss, Ibrahim Magu Although the specific offence committed by the said officer was still sketchy at press time, sources learned that the man had made some statements to EFCC, but might not be released immediately.
Badeh Meanwhile, former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, who reported to EFCC since Monday, was still being quizzed at press time. Going by EFCC’s new operational strategy, there were fears that the agency could charge him to court straight from its cell. Badeh was summoned to appear before a special team of interrogators raised by the EFCC to look into the report of the Presidential Committee on Arms Purchase between 2007 and 2015. The panel, which was raised by President Muhammadu Buhari, turned in its report early this year, naming many top military officers, including Badeh, as those to give explanations on what transpired during their tenure. It was learned that during the interaction with Badeh, the operatives confronted him with details of arms procurement which were carried out during his tenure first as the CAS and later as the CDS and asked him to comment on them. One source said that the aim of the interaction with Badeh was to enable him shed more light on some transactions which required more explanations and which apparently did not give the nation real value for money.
