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EXCLUSIVE: How I Foiled Plot By Kingibe, Kyari, Abubakar To Loot $44m NIA Intervention Fund – Ex-Acting DG
The Nigerian Record
2/6/20195 min read
Immediate past Acting Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Mr Mohammed Dauda, has revealed how he fought off sustained pressure from a powerful cabal comprising former Secretary to the Government of the Federation Babagana Kingibe, incumbent NIA Director-General Rufai Abubakar, and President Muhammadu Buhari's Chief of Staff Abba Kyari to steal $44 million from the agency's intervention fund, according to a confidential brief he submitted to the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence.
In the brief exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters, Mr Dauda detailed a campaign of intimidation, threats and financial demands that ultimately led to his removal from office in January 2018, after he refused to hand over the funds which had become an exhibit in the ongoing Ikoyi apartment cash scandal.
Mr Dauda said he assumed office as Acting Director-General on November 6, 2017, following a meeting with Mr Kyari at the Presidential Villa, where the Chief of Staff conveyed the President's directive that he should function in an acting capacity while awaiting further directives. Shortly after, he received a briefing from his predecessor, Mr Arab Yadam, who informed him that the agency had $44 million in its custody which formed part of the intervention fund that had triggered the Ikoyi cash scandal. The Acting Director of Finance and Administration, Brigadier-General Mohammed Ja'afaru, further cautioned that the money should not be touched because it had become an exhibit in an ongoing case.
Trouble began when the Presidential Review Panel headed by Mr Kingibe commenced its assignment within the NIA. After the panel's maiden meeting, Mr Kingibe called Mr Dauda aside and advised him to cooperate fully and avoid being close to the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno. He disclosed that the panel had presidential powers to overrule previous instructions issued by the NSA and instructed Mr Dauda to channel all activities, contacts and concerns through the Office of the Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, alone.
Mr Dauda said the instruction left him in discomfort as it contradicted the provisions of the agency's instruments, but he complied to avoid starting on a confrontational note. However, he said things soon took a troubling turn when Mr Kingibe and Mr Abubakar began pressuring him for money. He explained that the agency's dollar account was low because of the difficulty in sourcing dollars from the Central Bank following the Ikoyi scandal, but they insisted that the $44 million in the custody of the Acting Director of Finance and Administration belonged to the agency and that the DFA had no power to stop him from spending it.
They further advised him to send Brigadier-General Ja'afaru back to the army and warned that if he refused, he would face consequences. Mr Dauda said the pressure was intense, but he resisted because he knew that without the Brigadier-General, he would be unable to withstand further pressure from the desperate cabal.
"They kept insisting that they had the mandate of the President and that the President had directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to hands off the money and that it was legitimately ours," Mr Dauda stated in the brief. "Ambassador Kingibe told me that he was the one who, through the Chief of Staff, drafted the memo that the President assented to, instructing the EFCC to hands off our case just to convince me that there are no more encumbrances on the money."
Despite this, Mr Dauda refused to budge. He said Mr Kingibe and Mr Abubakar continued to pressure and threaten him, warning that if he did not get rid of the Brigadier-General, he would have regrets. They later accused him of refusing presidential orders and warned of consequences if he remained adamant. At one meeting, Mr Dauda said panel member Albert Horsfall advised him to ignore any suggestion that could cause confrontation with the NSA and recommended that the panel include the matter in their recommendations to the President.
The former Acting Director-General also disclosed that the pressure for money intensified, with demands for funds to cover medical treatment and holidays abroad for their families and girlfriends. He revealed that he had given a lady identified simply as "Angela," who was introduced to him by Mr Kingibe, $50,000 on one occasion and $20,000 on another at the car park of the Hilton Hotel, which apparently did not impress Mr Kingibe. He also said he reluctantly gave Mr Kingibe $50,000 for a trip to London for a medical check-up after the current NIA Director-General contacted him on WhatsApp at Mr Kingibe's behest. In total, he said Mr Kingibe collected over $200,000 from him during his time heading the panel.
On December 20, 2017, Mr Dauda said Mr Kingibe summoned him to his residence at 59 Nelson Mandela Street, Asokoro, Abuja, where he was asked to come alone. At the meeting, he was told that his refusal to cooperate had become a concern and that he would be held liable if he failed to stop an alleged plot by the Acting DFA to steal the $44 million. The panel then informed him that their recommendations included the appointment of two Deputy Directors-General with watered-down powers to ensure they would not pose a threat to him as Director-General.
It was at this meeting that Mr Kingibe suggested it was time for Mr Dauda to reciprocate, as he was likely to receive the President's approval as substantive Director-General only if he could immediately make $2 million available. When Mr Dauda said this was impossible as the only available money was the $44 million and he did not know how to approach the Acting DFA, they warned that if he could not sack the DFA, they would send someone to do it soon.
This was the last communication Mr Dauda had with them until he learned of his removal from office on January 11, 2018, when it was announced on Channels Television around 8 pm. The next day, he advised the NSA to evacuate the money from the NIA, and the NSA heeded the advice, moving the funds to the Office of the NSA.
Later that night, Mr Dauda received a call from Mr Abubakar requesting a meeting at 10 pm, which he said was ordered by Mr Kyari. The meeting was eventually moved to the next day, where an enraged Mr Abubakar said the Presidency had blamed him for not taking over immediately, thereby allowing the money to be taken away, and warned that Mr Dauda would be held responsible. Mr Dauda responded that no money was missing and that he had approved the transfer to ensure its safety, warning Mr Abubakar to mind his language as he had always been his senior in the service.
Mr Dauda also stated that his life was being threatened by the Kingibe gang and requested immediate protection for himself and his family. He noted that Mr Abubakar had already written a letter requesting the return of official vehicles in his possession and had restricted his movement on the claim that the agency was investigating a leakage of sensitive information. He said these acts were meant to cow and intimidate him into submission, with attempts to bundle him out of his official quarters through extra-legal means and withdraw his security details.
He called on the House Committee not to allow the Kingibe gang to subvert the rule of law by bullying him into submission.