Arms Deal And Billions Of Naira: Dokpesi’s Payment Raises Serious Accountability Questions

Editor’s note: Many bearers of famous names in Nigeria are prominently featured in newspapers and online media for alleged participation in the questionable arms contract and stealing billions of naira. Some social and political commentators see it as the President Buhari-led government’s hounding of opposition adversaries. The other camp says Buhari is fulfilling his pledge to root out corruption in Nigeria.

‘Yomi Kazeem, the Naij.com columnist, says the recent arrest and questioning of Raymond Dokpesi, chairman of Africa Independent Television, raises even more questions and serves as a demonstrations of how highest-ranking officials are used to handling the matters and budgets of national scale and importance.

At different points in time during the fight against Boko Haram, the army was said to be ill-equipped and basically incapable of matching the firepower of the terrorist sect. These setbacks reduces their chances of winning the war against the insurgency that had resulted in the deaths of thousands and the displacement of even more.

At the time, the reports of the ill-equipped armed forces left Nigerians confused especially as the country’s security budget ran into hundreds of billions. But within the last month, the picture has become much clearer.

A probe into the procurement dealings of the Nigerian army under the last administration has revealed large-scale corruption and embezzlement as former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki has been arrested. In simple terms, the probe suggests that a bulk of Nigeria’s security budget was siphoned while the military were in dire need of better equipment and the citizens in the North-East were being slaughtered.

The probe, ordered by President Buhari, revealed that funds earmarked for security and arms totaled $5 billion including extra budgetary interventions. Even more damning was the revelation that while over 500 contracts were awarded for the procurement of arms for the Nigerian army, 53 of those contracts valued at over $2 billion were failed.

While Dasuki’s is a high-profile arrest, the arrest of media mogul Raymond Dokpesi and statements attributed to him after the arrest could be key to revealing the scale of the malfeasance under the last administration.

In a bid to build his defence in the light of claims that he received N2.1 billion as payment from the office of the National Security Adviser, Dokpesi is reported to have said the money was payment for media and publicity campaigns. With Dokpesi being a media mogul, the claims are a rather convenient explanation. However, they also raise a range of questions: why was the office of the National Security Adviser in charge of making payments to a private media house for president’s re-election media campaigns? Why were funds earmarked for the protection of citizens’ lives and property and also for equipping soldiers spent on a media campaign?

These questions cast doubt on the accountability and transparency of dealings during the last administration as, even though this scandal is tied directly to the office of the National Security Adviser, it could also be an indication of widespread malaise. Dasuki has reportedly began identifying more high-profile individuals involved in the arms deal, which supports the premise that generally, rather than focus on the fight against Boko Haram and the protection of lives, the high-ranking individuals simply shared the security budget as a largesse during the last administration.

The big fear now is that should more probes be sanctioned, they could reveal even more rot. How many more government offices, ministries and agencies diverted crucial public funds to pay for the re-election campaign of the then-incumbent president? That is a question that needs to be answered.

Should this be the case, steps must be taken to ensure better accountability and prevent similar occurrences in the future. On his part, President Buhari is already laying a foundation for better accountability as he has instituted a Treasury Single Account for the government.

Regardless, the questions raised by the payments made by the office of the National Security Adviser have to be answered. Why Nigerians had to die since the people responsible for their safety chose to divert vital funds instead should not remain a rhetorical question.

‘Yomi Kazeem is a media professional based in Lagos, Nigeria.

This article expresses the author’s opinion only. The views and opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Naij.com or its editors.

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