Former Chief of Army Staff Gen. Kenneth Minimah (retd) has refunded about N1.7billion to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), The Nation learnt at the weekend.
Besides, there were indications that another former Chief of Army Staff and some ex-military officers might be arraigned in court for alleged corrupt practices relating to “phoney” arms contracts.
The legal unit of the EFCC is fine-tuning charges against the suspects.
But a status report on Gen. Minimah, who was the Army Chief from January 2014 to July 2015, indicates that he has returned some cash to the EFCC.
The refund followed extensive investigation by the anti-graft agency on the report and recommendations of the Presidential Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement (CADEP).
CADEP had uncovered “irregularities” in the procurement and award of contracts in the Army and suspicious transactions in the accounts of the Defence Industry Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) during Gen. Minimah’s tenure.
A top source, who spoke in confidence, said: “We have interrogated Gen. Minimah and he has started refunding some funds. So far, he has refunded about N1.7billion in two tranches to the EFCC.
“So far, he has cooperated with us and we are hopeful that he will still make more refunds, in line with some contracts awarded by the Army.
