Former chief of army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, has denied ownership of the house in Wuse, Abuja, where operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) raided and recovered over N1.85bn in cash and other luxury items.
Earlier, an online medium had published a story titled: “EXCLUSIVE: Anti-graft Agency, ICPC Uncovers Billions In Cash Meant For Arms, Ammunition To Fight Boko Haram In Abuja Home Of Ex-Chief Of Army Staff, Buratai,” stating that N1.85 billion was recovered from the retired army general’s house when ICPC raided his home.
The report identified Buratai, who is Nigeria’s ambassador to Benin Republic, as the owner of the said property.
But Buratai in a statement by his legal adviser, Osuagwu Ugochukwu ESQ, described the reports as smear and fabricated tale published to tarnish his image.
The statement said: “I have gone through the said publication and have interfaced with Ambassador T.Y. Buratai and can authoritatively say the content of the publication is false, concocted and malicious.
“It is on record that on or about 5th April 2018 President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the purchase of equipment worth $1bn for the military through the Ministry of Defence. It is a fact that first batch of Six Super Tucano fighter jets arrived Nigeria July 22, 2021 while final batch of the 12 A-29 Super Tucano fighter jets arrived October 18, 2021. No Arms fund is ever missing contrary to some previous mischievous publications.
“For the records no such amount was found with Ambassador Buratai nor does he have any aide bearing such name. Ambassador Buratai has no office or house in Wuse Abuja nor does he have any bulletproof cars, BMW, G-Wagon worth N450m and neither is ICPC investigating any such.
“We view this as an orchestrated act aimed at tarnishing the image of Lt. Gen. Buratai and we shall take all legal steps to hold the publishers accountable for such grievous character assassination on the image of Buratai.”
The ICPC has also debunked the news published by the online news platform.
ICPC Raids Abuja Home Of Military Contractor, Recovers Cash, Multi-billion Naira Items
The commission stated that contrary to the report, it was the residence of a military contractor, Kabiru Sallau, that was raided in Wuse 2, based on a tip-off, where the items were recovered.
The commission which stated this in a press statement issued by its spokesman, Azuka Ogugua, said the clarification became necessary to correct the inaccurate report in the media about the seizure.
The statement added; “Facts available for the time being indicate that the property is owned by the owner of K Salam Construction Company, a military contractor.
“The commission recovered money and other items from the property viz-a-viz N175,706,500; $220,965; G-Wagon; 2022 editions of BMW and Mercedes Benz cars; customized mobile phones; several designer wrist watches, including three Rolexes, and some property documents.
“The commission arrested the managing director of K Salam Construction Company Nigeria Limited, Kabiru Sallau and the investigation is ongoing.
“The commission is yet to conclude its investigation and prefers not to preempt its outcome and also avoid the frenzy of a media trial,” he stated.
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