 |
| DHQ-Abuja |
Whistleblowers in the defence industry
are raising the alarm over a massive fraud of $466.5 million about to be
executed at the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) with some arms dealers, using
the United States’ refusal to grant export permit for military hardware
to Nigeria as pretext.
A letter to the government aroused the
suspicion. An arms procurement company wrote that in view of the refusal
of the US to give export licence to Nigeria, it had reached an
agreement with NAF to substitute the initial order for Cobra AH-IV with
alternate attack platform which it claimed, has greater fire power.
The letter detailed the alternate
equipment to include six upgraded armed Puma Helicopters with the
equivalent attack capabilities of the Cobra; four SU-25KM upgraded
ground support/ attack aircraft;2 EU 25 UB for the purpose of qualifying
and training NAF pilots for specific mission.
To power the pitch further, it offer
additional incentive by proposing to build a suitable purpose built
storage and hanger for the Puma and SU25 helicopters to accommodate the
ground support requirements.
Same day, the company initiated a second
correspondence with the NAF from its representative office at 1c Barnes
High Street, London SW 13 9LB, United Kingdom titled “ Additional
Critical Armament Requirement for NAF”. The company put the cummulative
charges for the various equipment, including shipping at $466.5million.
Whistleblowers were shocked that in a
government parastatal known for slow moving mails and deliberations, the
NAF recommended the pitch by the military hardware supply company to
the higher echelon of government within 16 days of submitting the
proposal.
In its recommendation, NAF wrote: “The
NAF hereby confirms the letters from the firm (name withheld) regarding
platform amendment and additional armament requirement for the NAF. This
arrangement became necessary because the United States of America
failed to endorse the sale of Cobra AH-IV attack helicopter to Nigeria.
Accordingly, NAF has agreed that the
said firm (name withheld) replace the Cobra helicopter with six
upgraded armed Puma helicopters, four upgraded SU-25KM and two upgraded
SU-25UB attack aircraft”.
The NAF stated that the technical
specifications and scopes of work for the aircraft types, required
upgrade, training and support package as well as the additional armament
requirements have been signed by both parties.
Stridently painting the urgent need for
the supply, the NAF urged the approving authority to consent to the
request immediately to address current national security challenges as
the equipment were needed in the short term.
Curiously, the NAF letter admitted that
the equipment being procured was not the appropriate hardware to meet
the needs. It noted that the acquisition of new Mangusta 129-Attack
Helicopters were actually needed to enhance the Force’s operational
capabilities.
The contents of the correspondence soon
became known to insiders in the Defence industry and led to serious
petitions against the transaction on the grounds that it would amount to
massive fraud if executed and that the NAF was guilty of negligence as
it did not carry out the mandatory due diligence before endorsing the
deal.
According to a petition by a military
hardware supplier, “ the total cost of $345.05million, including freight
in the attached invoice…does not differentiate between the Puma and
SU-25. The unit cost for the SU-25 is mentioned as $11million for a new
jet on the internet. While the offered SU-25 are not new, the Puma
helicopters are heavily overloaded in price of at least $45 million
each”.
Wondering why the NAF would prefer
overloaded cost, the company said it quoted $25 million for the
helicopter adding that the $39.45 million offered by the preferred firm
for armament to NAF, far exceeded its quotation of $13million.
Its conclusion: “This proposed deal
being supported by the approving authority is heavily overloaded and
considering the probable age of the equipment, is not a fair deal for
Nigeria at all”. It added that the proposed training for the pilots and
the building of a new hanger are out of place since the pilots are
adequately trained and there exisits a subsisting hanger.
Defence industry sources believe that
the transaction is a smokescreen for massive fraud as the proposed
equipment are no longer being produced and those being refurbished for
supply under this transaction cannot deliver on their functions.
Efforts to obtain the reaction of the
NAF at the time of going to press were not fruitful as the official
lines of the media department were switched off.
Source:
The Nation Newspaper
No comments:
Post a Comment