$1 Billion Defence Fund Did Not Pass Through My Hands – Buratai Fires Back At Critics

Former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd.), has dismissed allegations that he received the $1 billion approved for defence procurement during his tenure as Army Chief.

He said the fund was released to the Ministry of Defence, not to him.

Naija News reports that Buratai made the clarification at the Defence Correspondents Association of Nigeria conference in Abuja on Monday.

He described the allegation surrounding the funds as “political and malicious,” saying they first emerged during the 2019 election period when the opposition alleged that the money had been diverted for electoral purposes.

The former Army chief insisted that the National Economic Council approved the funds and that they did not pass through his hands or the accounts of the Nigerian Army, Navy, and Air Force.

“The $1 billion was approved by the National Economic Council for defence procurement. Not a single dollar of that fund passed through my hands or through the accounts of the Nigerian Army, Navy, or Air Force. The funds were released to the Ministry of Defence, and the entire procurement process was handled by that ministry.

“The Army, Navy, and Air Force never had a single dollar from that fund to make procurement directives. I have described these allegations as political and malicious. They first surfaced during the 2019 election period, when the opposition alleged the funds had been diverted for electoral purposes-a claim the Federal Government publicly refuted. Yet the stain remained, attached to the Service Chiefs rather than the institution that managed the funds”, Buratai stated.

Buratai said the Federal Government publicly refuted the allegation at the time but lamented that the controversy continued to affect the reputation of service chiefs.

He faulted the ministry for publicly explaining how the funds were disbursed or how contracts were awarded.

“The ministry then, on its own, had not publicly explained how funds were disbursed or contracts awarded. Accountability must be properly located,” he said.

Buratai, however, called for greater transparency in military procurement, recommending a defence procurement transparency portal to publish information on awarded contracts, contracting entities, and delivery timelines, subject to national security considerations.

“The Ministry of Defence must own procurement records. The $1 billion arms procurement controversy festered because the institution that managed the funds, the Ministry of Defence, remained silent while Service Chiefs absorbed criticism.

“I recommend a Defence Procurement Transparency Portal that publishes, within national security limits, broad categories of contracts awarded, contracting entities, and delivery timelines. When the media asks where the money went, the answer should come from the ministry that spent it, not from military officers who never touched it,” he said.