Another $202m missing from NIA Coffers – Reps

There seem to be no letting up on the scandals plaguing the
National Intelligence Agency as another $202 million has been
discovered to be missing from its coffers
Recall that first there was the issue of $43 million found in an
Ikoyi, Lagos apartment said to belong to the NIA, Then there was
the $44 million allegedly missing from the NIA’s coffers which the
House of Representatives mandated its committee on Public Safety
and National Security to investigate.

Chairman of the Committee , Hon. Aminu Sani Jaji (APC Zamfara)
said while investigating the missing $44 million as mandated by the
House, a stunning discovery came to light that an additional $202
million is missing from the coffers of the NIA.

In a post-meeting briefing with reporters at the weekend, the
committee chair said it was discovered that a total of $289 million
was given to the NIA by the Goodluck Jonathan administration for ”
intervention”

According to him, the money was not appropriated by the National
Assembly for the Agency. “The NIA got the money for ‘intervention’
from the past administration. For whatever reason, the past DG, Ayo
Oke failed to disclose to the present administration that we have
this amount of money.,” he said.

He further said: “Even the National Security Adviser, said it
was when our committee began its investigation, they got the
information that the NIA got $289million.
“You know we had a meeting with the NSA today ( Friday) we later
discovered since last week in our meeting with the past Acting DG
NIA that the $44 million is not missing.

“For now, I can categorically tell you the money is not missing.
They only moved the money from one agency to another place pending
when all the issues surrounding the agency is resolved.

“If you remember, there was this $44million which is among the
$289million approved to the then Director-General, that is Ayo Oke.
Just April last year, they discovered $43million in Ikoyi. He tried
to say that the $44 million and $43million are part of the
$289million.

But for us, we are still working to see where the remaining $202
million was placed. We only know about the $43million now, the one
discovered in Ikoyi and the $44 million in their vault. In the
course of our investigation, we’ll come up with where the $289m
really is, not the $43m and not the $44m but the entire amount.

“For me, the money($202million) is still missing. If you
subtract $43million and $44million from $289million, then where is
the balance? That’s why we’re where we are today. That is why we
have to intensify our investigation.

On the issue of the citizenship of the the new DG of NIA
Abubakar Rufai Ibrahim and his wife, Jaji said by the referral of
the House to the committee, the circumstances surrounding his
appointment was discussed.

“One of the issues is that some are saying he has dual
citizenship, but he said to us categorically that his father is
from Katsina and he (his father) after sometime decided to migrate
from Katsina to Chad. His mother is a Nigerian, and his wife too is
a Nigerian.

“He even showed us the approval of the then DG that he was
allowed to marry her. I think she’s Fadilah by name. She’s from
Katsina. She did her secondary school in Sandamu.

“According to the documents supplied to us, he said really he
did his primary school in Chad, but he did secondary school in
Nigeria and his first degree was in BUK. We saw all that.

Jaji said his committee also discussed the allegations that he
failed his promotion exams with the new DG.

“Not only that but we also saw all the promotion exams that he
went through when he was in service. He passed all the promotion
exams that we saw in his file. We also saw that he retired not as
an assistant director but as a deputy director.

“According to him, he retired voluntarily, that’s what we saw in
the retirement notification in his file.

There seem to be no letting up on the scandals plaguing the
National Intelligence Agency as another $202 million has been
discovered to be missing from its coffers
Recall that first there was the issue of $43 million found in an
Ikoyi, Lagos apartment said to belong to the NIA, Then there was
the $44 million allegedly missing from the NIA’s coffers which the
House of Representatives mandated its committee on Public Safety
and National Security to investigate.

Chairman of the Committee , Hon. Aminu Sani Jaji (APC Zamfara)
said while investigating the missing $44 million as mandated by the
House, a stunning discovery came to light that an additional $202
million is missing from the coffers of the NIA.

In a post-meeting briefing with reporters at the weekend, the
committee chair said it was discovered that a total of $289 million
was given to the NIA by the Goodluck Jonathan administration for ”
intervention”

According to him, the money was not appropriated by the National
Assembly for the Agency. “The NIA got the money for ‘intervention’
from the past administration. For whatever reason, the past DG, Ayo
Oke failed to disclose to the present administration that we have
this amount of money.,” he said.

He further said: “Even the National Security Adviser, said it
was when our committee began its investigation, they got the
information that the NIA got $289million.
“You know we had a meeting with the NSA today ( Friday) we later
discovered since last week in our meeting with the past Acting DG
NIA that the $44 million is not missing.

“For now, I can categorically tell you the money is not missing.
They only moved the money from one agency to another place pending
when all the issues surrounding the agency is resolved.

“If you remember, there was this $44million which is among the
$289million approved to the then Director-General, that is Ayo Oke.
Just April last year, they discovered $43million in Ikoyi. He tried
to say that the $44 million and $43million are part of the
$289million.

But for us, we are still working to see where the remaining $202
million was placed. We only know about the $43million now, the one
discovered in Ikoyi and the $44 million in their vault. In the
course of our investigation, we’ll come up with where the $289m
really is, not the $43m and not the $44m but the entire amount.

“For me, the money($202million) is still missing. If you
subtract $43million and $44million from $289million, then where is
the balance? That’s why we’re where we are today. That is why we
have to intensify our investigation.

On the issue of the citizenship of the the new DG of NIA
Abubakar Rufai Ibrahim and his wife, Jaji said by the referral of
the House to the committee, the circumstances surrounding his
appointment was discussed.

“One of the issues is that some are saying he has dual
citizenship, but he said to us categorically that his father is
from Katsina and he (his father) after sometime decided to migrate
from Katsina to Chad. His mother is a Nigerian, and his wife too is
a Nigerian.

“He even showed us the approval of the then DG that he was
allowed to marry her. I think she’s Fadilah by name. She’s from
Katsina. She did her secondary school in Sandamu.

“According to the documents supplied to us, he said really he
did his primary school in Chad, but he did secondary school in
Nigeria and his first degree was in BUK. We saw all that.

Jaji said his committee also discussed the allegations that he
failed his promotion exams with the new DG.

“Not only that but we also saw all the promotion exams that he
went through when he was in service. He passed all the promotion
exams that we saw in his file. We also saw that he retired not as
an assistant director but as a deputy director.

“According to him, he retired voluntarily, that’s what we saw in
the retirement notification in his file.