IN continuation of investigations into thousands of missing arms and ammunition from the Army’s Central Ammunition depot, Kaduna, a former Director of Military Intelligence (name withheld) who is currently a director at the Defence headquarters has become the first casualty as he has been retired.
The retirement letter, which was given to the two-star General on Monday, was said to have been fast-tracked following the discovery that militants in the senior officer�s home state in the Niger Delta were in possession of military weapons which they used to kill soldiers.
The senior officer was then summoned to appear before a court martial to say all he knew about the missing arms. It was gathered that the former DMI, who is currently a Director at the Defence headquarters, was a Brigadier-General when it was first discovered that some arms were missing. When the matter was brought to his attention, he was said to have handled it with kid gloves, without ordering the arrest or punishing of anybody.
On assumption of office, Lt. General Luka Yusuf, the Chief of Army Staff, when presented with the facts, decided to investigate the missing arms and the alleged involvement of senior officers by using the Military Police Corps and not the military intelligence, resulting in the revelations.
Regarding the former commanding officers, it was gathered that many of them were fingered at the court martial by the Non Commissioned Officers who had worked at the Central Depot for at least five years.
General Yusuf vowed recently that maximum punishment would be visited on the officers who committed the act, if found guilty. Yusuf’s vow came against the backdrop of revelations that many influential personalities, including traditional rulers and politicians, had been calling the army boss to plead for mercy for the officers and save their careers.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that boxes were filled with old weapons with a few new ones placed on top to give the impression that everything was normal.
The punishment for the offence, according to investigations, includes dismissal from service and a jail sentence.