Femi Falana, a senior advocate of Nigeria on Sunday, July 11, 2016, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, the chief of army staff for the ownership of corrupt $1.5 Dubai properties in the event that Buratai refuses to resign over the scandal.
Mr. Falana insisted that the explanation offered by the Nigerian Army authorities on how Buratai paid for the properties, was laughable and went on to tag such explanation as a “cock and bull story.”
The Nigerian Army had explained, through a statement on Friday, June 24, 2016, that General Buratai acquired the properties with his personal savings.
The lawyer regretted that the Nigerian Army had been “illegally” used to defend Buratai in his wrongdoings. He berated the army’s involvement in defending the army chief, noting that such act sets a bad moral precedence, and therefore called on President Buhari to do “the needful”.
“If the chief of Army staff does not deem it fit to resign forthwith, President Buhari should not hesitate to remove him in the interest of national morality,” Falana said.
Falana wondered how an army general could own property worth as much as $1.5m in a foreign country and also called on the Code of Conduct Bureau to open an investigation on Buratai.
“In view of the ban on the opening and operation of foreign accounts by public officers, the Code of Conduct Bureau should be involved in the investigation.” He added.
Mr Falana was also quoted to have said that since the Buhari administration had assured Nigerians that there would be no sacred cow in the fight against corruption, Buratai should resign and allow a full scale and transparent investigation by the Arms Procurement Panel and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
