Brigade Commander Locked In Guardroom In Abuja Over Alleged Diversion Of Soldiers’ Rice, Selling Of Military Vehicles, Generators, Other Items
The Commander of 3 Brigade Kano, Brigadier General M.A. Sadiq, has been detained in a military police Guardroom in Abuja over alleged diversion of rice palliatives, selling of military equipment, including generator sets and operational vehicles, to scrap yards.
Sources who spoke to newsmen on the condition of anonymity, said the Nigerian Defence Headquarters gave the rice to the brigades nationwide for distribution to soldiers as palliative.
It was also gathered that the Defence Headquarters had distributed the rice on at least three occasions, to Nigerian soldiers, according to nominal roll.
The sources intimated that the general, however shared only 5kg bags once to the soldiers and sold the remaining batches.
It was further learnt that apart from the rice scandal, the general carted away equipment, including a MIKANO heavy-duty generator at Military Training Camp, Falgore, Kano, and sold them to metal scrap dealers.
According to report, the embattled military officer has been replaced by a former Registrar of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Brigadier General A.M. Tukur.
“Following these allegations, Brigadier General Sadiq has been detained in guardroom and is facing interrogation by the special investigation branch of military police in Abuja.
“He was first invited to Abuja for questioning, and immediately ordered to be locked in the military police guardroom. There are mounting allegations against him.
Already Brigadier General A.M. Tukur, who previously served as the Registrar of the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, has been appointed to take charge of the brigade.
“Full scale investigations into the matter are ongoing. He will likely face charges at the court-martial,” the source added.
As at the time of filing this report, the spokesman for the Nigerian Army, Major-General Onyema Nwachukwu, could not be reached either through phone calls or SMS.
