Former Army Chief of Staff General Tukur Buratai (rtd) has denied reports suggesting his home was raided by officers from the Independent Commission on Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses ( ICPC).
The ICPC had announced on Friday that it had recovered 170 million naira in cash, $220,965, G-Wagon and other items from a military contractor in Abuja.
The announcement which came after a post by online media (Not THE WITNESS) headlined: “EXCLUSIVE: Anti-corruption agency, ICPC uncovers billions in cash earmarked for weapons, ammunition to fight Boko Haram in Abuja, home of ex-Army Chief of Staff, Buratai,” alleging N1.85 billion was recovered from the retired general’s house when the ICPC raided his home, had led to speculation that he was the person involved in uncovering the anti-corruption agency.
But the former army chief denied the reports, noting he had no house in Wuse where the discovery was made.
In a statement signed by his legal counsel, Osuagwu Ugochukwu ESQ, Buratai called the reports defamation and a fabricated tale, published to tarnish his image.
“MY attention has been drawn to a recent posting on the Sahara Journalists webpage titled ‘EXCLUSIVE: Anti-Corruption Agency, ICPC Uncovers Billions in Cash Earmarked for Arms, Ammunition to Fight Boko Haram in Abuja, home of ex-army chief of staff Buratai “which was released on 23/06/2022,” the statement said.
“I have gone through the said post and communicated with Ambassador TYBuratai and can say with authority that the content of the post is false, concocted and malicious.
“It is recorded that on or about April 5, 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the purchase of equipment worth $1 billion for the military through the Ministry of Defence. C It is a fact that the first batch of six Super Tucano fighter jets arrived in Nigeria on July 22, 2021 while the last batch of 12 A-29 Super Tucano fighter jets arrived on October 18, 2021. No Arms Fund never misses unlike some previous mischievous releases.
“For records, no such amount (#850M or any other similar sum) has been found from Ambassador Buratai and he has no aide with such a name. Ambassador Buratai has not of office or home in Wuse Abuja (address not provided by SR) and he also has no bulletproof cars, BMW, G-Wagon (vehicle details not also provided by SR) worth 450 million naira and the ICPC is not investigating either.
“We view this as an orchestrated act aimed at tarnishing the image of General LT.TY Buratai and we will take all legal action to hold the publishers accountable for such a serious assassination on the image of LT.TY Buratai (RTD). “
