ex-Service Chiefs Reportedly Fingered In N2.5billion Military Pension Fraud

Over N2.5billion of Military Pensioners funds released by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to the Military Pension Board, MPB, was looted the same day through an unprecedented wire to phony names, according to documents obtained by Pointblanknews.com.

On December 31, 2020 the Military Pension Board, MPB, account received N2,061,899,314, (Two Billion and Sixty One Million, Eight Hundred and Ninety Nine  Thousand, Three Hundred and Fourteen), N498,194,768 (Forty-Eight Million, Four Hundred and Fifty Nine Thousand, Six Hundred and Two and another payment of N12,765,419 (Twelve Million, Seven Hundred and Sixty Five Thousand, Four Hundred and Nineteen) through a CBN operating account.

Investigations revealed that Commodore Saburi Abayomi Lawal who is Chairman of the Military Pension Board on December 31, 2020, connived with some top Military Chiefs, looted the over N2.5billion wired into the Military Pension account.

Pointblanknews.com gathered from top serving Military officers that the sacked Service Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas; and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, all may have benefitted from the N2.5billion in December 2020.

Military Sources told Pointblanknews.com that most funds released to the Military Pension Funds are usually shared amongst the Generals. The Sources would not want their name mentioned as they are still serving and not authorized to give information to the Press.

However, the N2.5billion was moved in small batches of N48million to names not associated to the military or retired officers.

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Pointblanknews.com investigations revealed that 35 wires of N48,459.602.07 (Forty-Eight Million, Four Hundred and Fifty-Nine Thousand, Six Hundred and Two), an equivalent of $100,000.00 using the December 2020 Dollar exchange rates of about $1 to N470/N480 was made to individuals.

The Thirty-Five persons who got the wires on December 21, 2020, are suspected to be Bureau De Change operatives.

On the same date while Seven persons were wired N44, 562,100.65, (Forty-Four Million, Five Hundred and Sixty-Two Thousand, One Hundred, Sixty-Five Kobo). Six other individuals got N86,159,030.85 (Eighty-Six Million, One Hundred and Fifty-Nine Thousand, Thirty Naira, Eighty-Five Kobo).

Checks done revealed that the beneficiaries who are Bureau De Change operators convert the Naira to dollars and share amongst Commodore Lawal, Service Chiefs and other top Military officers.

Commodore Lawal was the Director of Finance, Defence Intelligent Agency, DIA. In several of his accounts obtained by Pointblanknews.com still under scrutiny by auditors, he made several wires in millions daily to bureau the change and also to a company called Lasat Properties he owns.

Lawal also owns Lasat Petroleum in violation of civil Service rules

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Efforts to reach Commodore Lawal through all the numbers he listed on his accounts were not successful.

The Public Relations Officer of Military Pension Board, Flt-Lt O. Lawal when contacted by Pointblanknews.com asked, “are you EFCC, if you are not EFCC, why asking me?” He later said he is not aware of the December payment of over N2.5billion from the CBN and cannot take questions on that.

Recall that earlier in January 2021, the President of the Military Veterans of the Association of Ex-Service Men and Family Welfare, MWO, Anthony Agbas, led some aggrieved members to the Federal Ministry of Finance, Abuja, to protest non-payment of their 20-months pension arrears.