No fewer than 15 Armoured Personnel Carriers and tanks purchased for the Nigerian Army in 2020 under the immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai (retd.), from the $1 billion fund approved by the Nigerian government were lost to the Boko Haram terrorists within the same year they were bought.
SaharaReporters learnt that at least four countries supplied the APCs to the Nigerian Army in 2020 which were China, South Korea, United Arab Emirates and South Africa.
The breakdown of the Armoured Personnel Carriers obtained by way of SaharaReporters further found out that about 21 armoured companies have been ordered among 2018 and 2019 when the $1 billion fund from the Excess Crude Account was authorised and launched to the navy to useful resource the counter-insurgency warfare in the North-East.
The President Muhammadu Buhari authorities – against public criticisms on whether or not the price range might not be mismanaged – had long gone in advance to approve the ECA fund in April 2018.
SaharaReporters learnt that when the finances which had been allotted to the army came, Buratai deployed a part of it to reap the APCs from the 4 international locations – although the arms ended up being stolen or destroyed through the Boko Haram terrorists the identical year due to Buratai’s terrible conflict judgment and politicisation of the navy underneath his watch.
On Wednesday, the breakdown of the 21 APCs ordered among 2018 and 2020 showed that, “Nigeria ordered six VT-four and ZTL-09 armoured tanks from China in 2019 and the six had been supplied in 2020. Nigeria ordered three Marauder APCs from South Africa in 2018 and the 3 have been supplied in 2019. Nigeria ordered five KLTV-181 armoured providers from South Korea in 2020 and the 5 got here in 2020.
“Finally, Nigeria ordered 8 Phantom-2 armoured providers from the United Arab Emirates in 2020 and the 8 had been provided in 2020.”
Sources within the navy said about 15 of the APCs have been stolen by means of the insurgents.
“Most of the APCs have been stolen through the Boko Haram at some point of various operations in 2020. The terrorists knew thru informants in the navy that new ammunition got here and so, they intensified assaults on navy bases. The military under Buratai become already distressed, politicised and everyone become an informant,” a pinnacle source inside the army discovered.
“In December 2020, we misplaced a number of them to the Islamic State West Africa Province’s opponents. We misplaced the South Korea’s KLTV-181 army tactical-utility vehicle which had been designed and manufactured through Kia Motors Corporation,” he similarly explained.
SaharaReporters had solely said on Tuesday that about $381 million become launched to the military and army out of the $1billion for the acquisition of essential device.
Last week, the National Security Adviser, Maj Gen Babagana Monguno (retd,), had raised an alarm that the finances intended for the purchase of palms to combat Boko Haram and different protection demanding situations in the u . S . Have been missing.
Although beneath pressure, he later recanted and stated he was misquoted.
In an interview he granted to the BBC Hausa, Monguno had stated, “Mr President goes to research those funds. As we're speakme with you at gift, the kingdom governors, the Governors Forum have started out elevating questions in that route. $1 billion has been launched, and that has been released, and not anything appears to be changing. So I guarantee you that the president will no longer take this lightly.
“The funds are nowhere to be located and the guns have no longer been seen and the newly appointed carrier chiefs have declared that they've not visible the guns.”
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