Details and images of the raid by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on the farmland belonging to former Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Air Chief Marshal, Alex Badeh, in Kugwuru village, Karu, Nasarawa state, have been released.
AFRIPOST gathered that operatives of the anti-graft agency, following a tip-off, broke into Badeh’s room, ransacked the ceiling of the farmhouse and even went into underground septic tanks in search of money they claimed he had hidden on the farm.
It was gathered that in the process of the raid, an operatives got stuck in the septic tank but was rescued by the former CDS’ domestic staff.
In a letter addressed to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Abubakar Malami, Counsel to Badeh, Akin Olujimi alleged that the operatives even threatened to shoot some of Badeh’s domestic staff if they refused to cooperate by revealing to them ”where the ex CDS hid the money.”
Olujimi, in the letter urged the AGF to address the “continuous harassment, threat to life and vandalization of property by security operatives.”
According to the letter, the search was carried out by a set of plain clothes operatives who “cut open the wired fence, entered through it with their Hilux van and forced the farm manager to open the gate for their bus to gain access.
“They were said to have lined up everybody in the farm and threatened to shoot them if they do not cooperate by telling them where the ex CDS hid the money.
“They said they came with information that money was hidden near the underground sewage tank. They later identified themselves to be EFCC operatives but failed to provide any search warrants.
“It is on the back of these events that our client has considered it pertinent that we bring the matter to your notice the actions of the operatives which we do not believe were authorized by you. Their actions are patently illegal and they constitute a breach of our client’s constitutionally guaranteed human rights.
“May whatever arm of the security operatives involved in these nocturnal invasions, be directed to put a stop to the harassments of our client. They had done it on some occasions in the past.
“This renewal of the harassment has alerted our client to the need to cry out for protection. Let nobody plant anything illegal on our client’s farm or his house and then turn around to claim that they found any such thing in his farm or house.”
Photographs of the raid which was carried out on April 6th and 9th 2017 at about 9pm to 1am respectively, show that the operatives destroyed some of Badeh’s properties during the exercise.
Reacting to the action of the anti-graft agency, a group known as The New Nigeria Patriots faulted the action of the EFCC, saying Badeh remains the most vilified ex public officer in Nigeria at the moment.
National Coordinator of the group, Samuel Ndubuisi, described as sad the fact that the former CDS, who dedicated many years to the service of his fatherland should be treated as such.
Ndubuisi stressed that Badeh has been unfairly treated by the Federal Government.
According to the group’s Coordinator, “The whole country was made to believe Badeh was arrested in connection with the Federal Government investigation of diversion of funds meant for arms procurement to aid the war against Boko Haram.”
He, however, stated that when Badeh was arraigned, “no mention of his involvement in Dasukigate was made.”
The group said it has consistently monitored the court proceedings and that the prosecution has not presented a single evidence linking Badeh to any crime.
Nudubuisi said the constant harassment of Badeh was borne out of desperation to justify the huge money being spent on lawyers in the name of fighting corruption.
“If you raid the properties of an innocent man a million times, that will not make him guilty of a crime he did not commit. If you open the septic tank of an innocent man, you can only find faeces,” he said.
Badeh is currently facing an 11-count charge of criminal breach of trust and corruption to the tune of N3.9bn levelled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
See photos of the search below…
