Former Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, has said the $1bn approved for arms procurement in 2019 was released to the Federal Ministry of Defence, insisting that the Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force did not receive any part of the money.
Buratai made the clarification on Monday while delivering a keynote address at the third conference of the Defence Correspondents Association of Nigeria in Abuja.
He said the funds were approved by the National Economic Council (NEC) under the administration of the late President Muhammadu Buhari, but the Defence Ministry handled the procurement process.
“Not a single dollar of that fund passed through my hands or through the accounts of the Nigerian Army, Navy or Air Force,” he said.
“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,” he added.
The former army chief described allegations that the money was diverted for electoral purposes as “political and malicious”, saying they emerged during the 2019 election period and continued to taint the reputation of service chiefs.
He criticised the media for failing to establish which institution managed the funds and why the Defence Ministry had not publicly clarified how the money was disbursed or how contracts were awarded.
Buratai said accountability should be directed at the institution responsible for managing the procurement, rather than being attached to military service chiefs who, according to him, did not handle the funds.
At the conference, the Minister of Defence, Gen Christopher Musa (retd.), said Nigeria’s evolving security challenges required a combination of military force, intelligence, technology and cooperation among security agencies.
Represented by his special adviser, Air Commodore Stephen Ogunmodede (retd.), Musa said terrorist groups and criminal networks were increasingly exploiting technology, financial systems and gaps in coordination to advance their activities.
“Consequently, our response must combine effective combat operations with timely intelligence, technological capability, sound planning and cooperation among relevant security institutions,” he said.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Olufemi Oluyede, also urged defence correspondents to help counter misinformation, particularly fabricated videos and manipulated images targeting the military.
Represented by the Director of Defence Information, Maj Gen Samaila Uba, Oluyede said security operations were now fought both on the battlefield and in the information space.
He warned that AI-generated videos and cloned voices could undermine military operations, endanger troops, spread panic and weaken public confidence in the Armed Forces.
“These deepfakes are not mere misinformation; they are weapons of psychological warfare aimed at eroding public trust in the Armed Forces and rupturing the vital bond between the military and the citizenry,” he said.
Oluyede urged journalists to verify sensitive operational information with Defence Headquarters before publication, stressing that speed should not come at the expense of accuracy.
Earlier, DECAN President Odita Sunday called on Nigeria to invest in intelligence, technology, cybersecurity, human capital, research and cooperation among security agencies to prepare for future security challenges.
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