The controversial arms procurement deals under the immediate -past administration of Goodluck Jonathan have become a subject of litigation in the United States, where a national of Niger Republic , Hima Aboubakar , and a US arms dealer , Ara Dolarian , are locked in a legal battle involving a $ 246 m contract .

The $ 246 m order at the height of the Boko Haram insurgency in 2014 was for the supply of weapons and equipment , including helicopters, bombs and ammunition .

According to AFP , the deal reportedly collapsed in 2015 and the arms never arrived , forcing Aboubakar to sue Dolarian for fraud in a Californian court .

Aboubakar claimed the US arms dealer failed to ship $ 8 . 6 m worth of bombs and rockets to Nigeria as ordered , damaging his reputation as “ a trusted arms supplier to the Nigerian military ”.

Dolarian , however , alleged in court documents that he was unwittingly caught up in a “ money laundering scheme” and that Aboubakar ’ s arms money was “ stolen from the Nigerian government ” .

Campaign group , Transparency International, described corruption in the defence procurement sector as “ the new diesel for Nigeria ’s kleptocrats ” .

It estimated that more than $ 15 bn had been stolen , “ leaving the military without vital equipment , insufficiently trained , low in morale and under -resourced . ”

“ This has crippled the Nigerian military, ” it added in a new report published on Thursday .
But the Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen . John Enenche , rejected the TI’s report , describing it as “ a sweeping allegation.”
Enenche said the defence ministry now did “ government- to-government ” deals and no longer used contractors.

Pieter Wezeman , a researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, said Dolarian ’ s deal with Aboubakar and his company Societe d ’ Equipments Internationaux “ rings alarm bells” .

Court documents show SEI signed off on the purchase of six Mi- 24 and Mi- 35 helicopters from Dolarian for $ 25 m each , which Wezeman said was far above their normal value of $ 5 m each.

A former National Security Adviser , Col Sambo Dasuki (retd .) , is answering charges for criminal diversion of $ 2 .1 bn arms fund , breach of trust, money laundering and arms possession.

He was accused of orchestrating a sprawling embezzlement scheme that saw “ phantom contracts” awarded for personal and political gains .

Last year , a committee set up by Buhari indicated that SEI played a “ major ” role in the alleged scam after being awarded nearly $ 1 bn worth of contracts “ characterised by irregularity and fraud ” .

Aboubakar , however , told AFP , “ We continue to work with the Nigerian Army. Forget about what the people say ; they lie .”

punchng.com/nigerian-arms-scandal-resurfaces-in-us-court/

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