Sahara Reporters
Officials of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) have finally been able to open a second box found in the house of a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai (retd.), being used by a proxy.
The house was recently busted by the officials in the Wuse area of Abuja where cash meant to buy arms for the war against terror, vehicles and other items were recovered.
SaharaReporters learnt the second box which had just been opened contained $170,0000, £85,000 and €54,000.
The newspaper exclusively reported on Saturday that two boxes were found in the building but ICPC officials were only able to open one. The officials were unable to open the second box at the time of filing the report.
“They did not submit the money to the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) but kept it in the facility, trying to move the money. Two boxes were found but they (the ICPC) can’t open the second one still,” a source had told SaharaReporters.
On Sunday, SaharaReporters learnt $170,0000 (N103,700,000 at the parallel market rate of N610 to $1), £85,000 (N64,600,000 at the parallel market rate of N760 to 1£) and €54,000 (N34,020,000 at the parallel market rate of N630 to 1€) in cash were found in the second box.
This amounts to N202,320,000.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that the ICPC appeared to be doing the bidding of the former Army chief, Buratai, whose house was being used by a proxy, as the agency gave inconsistent figures of the amounts it found in the recovery of cash, vehicles and other items from the building.
SaharaReporters learnt that while the ICPC granted bail to the military contractor fronting for Buratai, claiming that N30 million was found in the apartment, the agency later said in an official release that N175 million was recovered.
Buratai, a retired Lieutenant General was the COAS between 2015 and 2021.
Azuka Ogugua, the spokesperson for the commission, had disclosed on Friday how the apartment was raided but did not give the details of Buratai’s links to the recovery.
Buratai, despite denials by his lawyer and other faceless individuals, already admitted to a newspaper that the property was his and no search warrant was obtained before it was raided.
One of the sources further revealed that the ICPC figures of recovery had discrepancies all in a bid to cover up for Buratai who is at the heart of the massive corruption unfold…
