The Osun State governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has called for severe punishment to be meted out on those involved in sharing the $2.1bn meant for arms procurement.
He stressed that they should get nothing short of an adequate punishment commensurate to the crime committed against the nation.
The Governor, who made this call in Osogbo on Friday at the 2016 Armed Forces Remembrance Day in honour of fallen heroes, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for unraveling the looting, insisting that all those found guilty should be severely punished without exception.
He decried a situation where some of the soldiers indicted had been pardoned, while others face uncertain future and asserted that it was pertinent that a fresh inquiry be set up to see that justice was done.
Aregbesola pointed out that the corruption perpetrated by the past administration caused massive destruction of lives and property, noting that the lack of superior weapons by the military forced some soldiers to run away from the insurgents.
According to him, “It is even a monumental scandal of unimaginable proportion that funds meant for procuring arms for soldiers are shared among members of the Peoples Democratic Party.
“I commend the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari in unravelling this heinous crime and I sincerely hope that all those involved will receive full retribution. Some of the soldiers caught in the maelstrom and indicted have been pardoned but some have lost their commission while others face uncertain future.
“Considering the circumstances of this unusual event, it is pertinent that a fresh inquiry be set up so that justice will be given to all those involved and our gallant soldiers will not be punished unjustly.”
While also speaking on the report of the committee set up to probe the roles of soldiers in the Ekiti and Osun 2014 governorship elections, he said that the deployment of soldiers for the election was unnecessary.
His words, “The military high command also set up an inquiry into the roles soldiers played in the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections of 2014. The committee has submitted its report and made recommendations.
“As a victim of the reckless deployment of soldiers in those elections, I will say it was an avoidable deployment of soldiers for a civilian duty and for which there was no threat beyond the capability of the police and other security agencies.”
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