President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the arrest of a
key member of the panel investigating the mismanagement of public funds meant
for the war against Boko Haram after receiving damning reports that he was
involved in alleged money laundering and illegal possession of firearms,
reliable security and presidency sources have told
PREMIUM TIMES.
Despite being his close ally and loyalist, Mr.
Buhari okayed the arrest of Mohammed Umar, after perusing reports alleging that
the retired Air Force officer ran a blackmailing and extortion cartel,
officials said.
Mr. Umar was arrested last week as operatives of
the State Security Service (SSS) raided his Abuja home.
Those familiar with the matter said before moving
against the retired officer, the Director General of the SSS, Lawal Daura, met
with Mr. Buhari where he tabled reports suggesting that the panel member had
been busy using the name of the president and other top officials of the
administration to intimidate, extort and blackmail individuals and businesses.
“The president became worried and jittery when he
was confronted with the way a man he trusted had been behaving,” a presidency
source said. “So he ordered that he should be picked up while the allegations
against him are thoroughly investigated.”
Security sources told this newspaper that documents
seized from Mr. Umar’s residence during a raid on June 19 included classified
documents from the president’s office, details of government transactions from
the Central Bank of Nigeria, and details of bank transactions belonging to the
Office of the National Security Adviser.
A document containing details of disbursements made
to the Nigerian armed forces and security agencies was also recovered during
the raid.
Mr. Umar retired as an air commodore in the
Nigerian Air Force in January 2014. While in service, he headed the Air Force’s
Holding Company as well as the Air Force Properties Limited.
He retired into enormous
wealth, officials involved in the investigations said.
Currently, he has six
companies, including a private jet company with a fleet size of 10 aircraft,
officials said.
Security sources also said
he is also one of Abuja’s biggest property owners.
“Many top government
functionaries live in his houses in Abuja,” a security source said. “He also
has properties in Dubai and London.”
Ally or double agent?
Mr. Umar became a close
ally of President Buhari shortly after the 2015 elections.
Armed with a cache of
information on Nigeria’s security contracts during the immediate past
administration of Goodluck Jonathan, he soon became a key figure in the president’s
investigative committee on arms procurement.
“He suggested most members
of the panel,” another presidential source told PREMIUM TIMES.
However, investigators said
Mr. Umar’s swift rise to relevance in President Buhari’s administration was
beginning to raised concerns regarding whether the new administration failed to
conduct a thorough background check on him, or simply ignored the man’s past.
Officials said Mr. Umar was
one of the first military officers to be arrested by the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission just years after the anti-graft agency was established.
He was detained for salary
and procurement fraud in the Air Force, but the matter was later handed over to
the military for trial, those familiar with the matter said.
Our sources said Mr. Umar
was compelled to make refunds, and the matter was brushed aside allowing the
man to return to the force.
Multiple officials told
PREMIUM TIMES that Mr. Umar’s stupendous wealth has always confounded several
of his colleagues.
“As far back as 20 years
ago, when his annual salary couldn’t afford a car, Mr. Umar had a private jet,”
one source said.
Married to the daughter of
a former Nigerian petroleum minister, Rilwan Lukman, Mr. Umar ran local and
international businesses while he served in the Nigerian Air Force, one source
said.
Cash Only
According to court
documents seen by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr. Umar carried out his recent deals in cash
only.
Despite owning a private
jet company and multiple real estates across the world, the total amount traced
to his bank accounts was only N165 million.
The total value of
currencies evacuated from his residence during the raid was at least N300
million.
Security officials believe
he received the cash payments – in breach of the money laundering law.
Investigators are also
trying to determine whether the cash were proceeds of illicit deals and
influence peddling.
Those close to him told
PREMIUM TIMES that part of the cash taken from Mr. Umar’s home were payments
for services rendered by his private jet company, Easy Jet Integrated Services
Limited – from two cargo flights from Nairobi to Houston and Nairobi to Hong Kong.
Investigators said they are
working to verify the claims.
Other properties seized from the retired officer’s home during the raid includes 13 luxury cars – One Range Rover, two Rolls Royce, two Bentleys, one BMW 7-series, one Mercedes 5550, one Lexus Sports, one Audi R8 and one Porsche Panamera GTs.
Other properties seized from the retired officer’s home during the raid includes 13 luxury cars – One Range Rover, two Rolls Royce, two Bentleys, one BMW 7-series, one Mercedes 5550, one Lexus Sports, one Audi R8 and one Porsche Panamera GTs.
As of Monday, Mr. Umar was
still held at the State Security Service detention centre in Abuja as security
officials continued with investigations into the matter.
The presidency refused to
comment for this story saying it was within the scope of the National Security
Adviser (NSA).
The NSA could not be
reached for comments. So also is the SSS, which is investigating the matter.
The agency has had no media liaison since its former spokesperson, Marilyn
Ogar, was removed.
.....Premiumtimes
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