Baba
Kusa
Besides
the fortune sunk into phoney arms deals, no less than N2.2billion was spent on
prayers against Boko Haram, it was learnt yesterday.
Former
President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration blew the cash on special prayers
in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, to win the war.
The
cash was disbursed through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA),
following a proposal by a former Executive Director of the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Aminu Baba-Kusa.
Baba-Kusa
is facing trial with a former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd.)
and three others. The others are Acacia Holdings Limited and Reliance Referral
Hospital Limited (owned by Baba-Kusa) and a former Director of Finance in ONSA,
Shuaibu Salisu.
In
the statement, he said the N2.2billion was spent on prayers to hasten the
defeat of Boko Haram. The cash was released in two tranches of N1, 450,000,000
and N750, 000,000. He told EFCC investigators that the contract proposal was
verbal. He has promised to refund the N2.2billion by disposing of his assets.
He
said: “I approached the former NSA and discussed Boko Haram problems and I
suggested there is need for prayers and he considered and accepted in 2013 when
he first came to office.’’