By Abiola Olawale
Lt. General Tukur Buratai, former Chief of Army Staff, has opened up on the viral reports of missing arms’ procurement funds under his watch, debunking the claims in circulation.
Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd), the National Security Adviser(NSA), was quoted to have said that the funds earmarked for the purchase of weapons to fight insecurity was missing.
However, Monguno, on Friday, debunked the statements attributed to him, stating that his interview with the BBC Hausa Service was misquoted and mistranslated.
Reacting to the reports, Buratai, denied diverting the funds meant for the procurement of arms, urging the general public to disregard the report.
He also noted that those who demand accountability on how the funds were spent should direct their queries to the Ministry of Defence.
This was contained in a statement signed by his personal lawyer, Osuagwu Ugochukwu.
The statement reads, “My attention has been drawn to an interview granted BBC by National Security Adviser (NSA), Rtd Major General Babagana Monguno, wherein he was alleged to have accused former service chiefs of filtering arms fund away. I can confirm that Lt. General Buratai and other ex-service chiefs were never mentioned in the interview and neither was any arms fund missing under the stewardship of Lt. Gen T.Y. Buratai. Interestingly, NSA Babagana Monguno has denied making such accusations. We, therefore, urge members of the public to discountenance any such misquoted narrative suggesting sleaze on the integrity of Rtd Lt Gen T.Y. Buratai. Anyone interested in knowing how arms were procured by the ex-service chiefs and particularly Lt Gen T.Y. Buratai should channel such request for information to the Ministry of Defence.”
