The $2 billion arms deal, or Dasukigate, is an arms procurement deal in Nigeria that resulted in the embezzlement of $2 billion through the office of the National Security Adviser under the leadership of Colonel Sambo Dasuki, the former National Security Adviser. The illegal deal was revealed following an interim report of the presidential investigations committee on arms procurement under the Goodluck Jonathan administration. The committee report showed an extra-budgetary spending to the tune of and additional spending of about $2.2 billion in the foreign currency component under the Goodluck Jonathan administration.
A preliminary investigation suggested that about $2 billion may have been disbursed for the procurement of arms to fight against Islamic insurgencies in Nigeria. The investigative report indicated that a total sum of $2.2 billion was inexplicably disbursed into the office of the National Security Adviser in procurement of arms to fight against insurgency but was not spent for that purpose. Several reports suggested that part of the disbursed fund was diverted for the sponsoring of the re-election of Goodluck Jonathan, the former President of Nigeria.
Investigations into this deal led to the arrest of Shaibu Salisu, a former director of finance in the office of the National Security Adviser. He was arrested by the Department of State Security Services. After interrogations, he claimed to have acted on Colonel Dasuki's order. Colonel Dasuki was arrested on 1 December 2015 by the Department of State Security Services and transferred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further interrogation. In a written statement, he mentioned several notable Nigerians who were involved in the arms procurement deal. Chief Raymond Dokpesi, the chair emeritus of DAAR Communications, was mentioned in connection with the deal alongside Attahiru Bafarawa, the former Governor of Sokoto State, and Bashir Yuguda, the former Minister of State for Finance.
After 276 schoolgirls were kidnapped in Chibok by the Boko Haram in April 2014, the following month, Marion Ford, an American living in Prague, the Czech Republic, was approached about procuring arms for the Nigerian army to fight the Islamic insurgent group . At that time, Ford did not have the necessary licenses to trade in arms, so he signed an agency agreement with and negotiated for arms dealer Ara Dolarian and his company DCI, based out of Fresno, California, and Sofia, Bulgaria. Dolarian was charged and arrested on 15 May 2019 because the US Department of State had not given his company the compulsory international arms deal brokering licenses required for contracts signed with NSA vendor Societe d'Equipmente Internationaux in 2014.However, the High Court of Nigeria in August 2022 found Societe d'Equipmente Internationaux innocent of charges and returned all frozen assets held by the EFCC.
Investigative committee The arms procurement investigative committee was inaugurated on 31 August 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate the procurement of ammunition to fight insurgencies during the administration of Goodluck Jonathan. The report revealed extra-budgetary spending to the tune of and spending of about $2.2 billion in the foreign currency component under the Goodluck Jonathan administration. This amount excluded grants received by the state governments and funds received by the Directorate of State Services and the Nigerian Police Force.
The committee analyzed how funds were transferred to the offices of the National Security Adviser and the Nigerian Armed Forces in local and foreign currencies. It observed that about $2.2 billion was disbursed for the procurement of ammunition to tackle insurgency but regretted that little was spent for the procurement of the arms. The committee discovered that out of the 513 contracts awarded at $8,356,525,184.32, and , about 53 were failed contracts amounting to about $2,378,939,066.27 and , respectively. The amount of foreign currency spent on failed contracts was more than twice the $1 billion loan approved by the National Assembly for borrowing from the World Bank to fight insurgencies. The investigative committee discovered a total transfer of to a single company by Colonel Dasuki, the former National Security Adviser. These transactions were made with neither agreements nor the fulfilment of tax obligations to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Further investigation by the committee provided evidence that fictitious contracts to the tune of and £9,905,477.00 were awarded between March 2012 and March 2015 by Colonel Dasuki. The funds disbursed for the purchase of 12 helicopters, 4 Alpha Jets, bombs, and other ammunition were not used for those purposes. The committee also noted that Dasuki directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to transfer a total sum of $132,050,486.97 and £9,905,473.50 to the accounts of the Societe D'equipmente Internationaux in West Africa, the UK, and the US with no documentation.
Subsequent to this interim report, President Buhari ordered the arrest of Colonel Dasuki for the alleged siphoning of billions of dollars allocated for the procurement of arms. He also ordered the arrest of all those indicted.
Probing and prosecutions Several notable Nigerians were involved in the arms procurement deals, including Chief Raymond Dopesi, the chair emeritus of DAAR Communications PLC, alongside Attahiru Bafarawa, the former Governor of Sokoto State, and Bashir Yuguda, the former Minister of State for Finance. Sambo Dasuki masterminded the arms procurement deal.
On 19 July 2015, the operator of the Department of State Security Service stormed his residence in Abuja and confiscated his international passport. He was charged with unlawful possession of firearms and foreign currencies. On 3 November 2015, Justice Adeniyi Ademola ordered the DSS to release his passport to enable him to travel for medical attention. Despite this, the DSS prevented him from traveling abroad by putting him under house arrest.
On 17 November 2015, President Buhari ordered the arrest of Colonel Dasuki for alleged siphoning of arms procurement funds. Dasuki claimed that ordering his arrest by the President is illegal. He denied that he was invited by the investigation committee on issues related to arms procurement. According to Premium Times, Dansuki said, "I have never been invited formally or informally to appear before the panel."
On 30 November 2015, Ambassador Bashir Yuguda was arrested and detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in connection with the arms procurement deal mentioned by Colonel Dasuki. He was arrested alongside Chief Raymond Dokpesi, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, and his son. Preliminary evidence showed that Ambassador Yuguda received from the National Security Adviser with no coherent basis for the financial transaction. The money was transferred into his account through an unknown company. The transfers were made between December 2014 and May 2015. An additional was also transferred to his account during the campaign for the 2015 Nigerian general election. Also, was transferred into his account from the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. Shaibu Salisu was arrested in connection with the arms procurement deal. Investigations reveal that Salisu operates a joint account with Sambo Dasuki. According to Thisday, EFCC operatives said, "We just discovered a huge sum of money in foreign currencies in a joint account [...]. He is also being interrogated by EFCC operatives." Salisu's statements led to Dasuki's arrest. The investigation revealed a payment of into the account of Nduka Obaigbena. He denied receiving any money from the Office of the National Security Adviser.
On 1 December 2015, Colonel Dasuki was arrested by the Department of State Security Services and transferred to the EFCC for further interrogation.
Prior to Dasuki's arrest, Shaibu Salisu was arrested by the Department of State Security Services, and following interrogations, he claimed to have acted on Colonel Dasuki's order, which led to Dasuki's arrest. After Dasuki was transferred to the EFCC, he initially decided not to comment on the issue or write any statement, claiming that he had been subjected to a media trial. The EFCC operatives then issued Dasuki a copy of the statement made by Shaibu Salisu. According to The Nation, Colonel Dasuki said, "You mean Salisu wrote all these! You mean he said these! Give me a pen and paper." Dasuki gave a list of people involved in the deal. He mentioned Chief Raymond Dopesi, the chair emeritus of DAAR Communications, alongside Attahiru Bafarawa and Bashir Yuguda. Chief Raymond Dopesi was arrested at his residence in Abuja by the EFCC in connection with the arms procurement deal mentioned by Colonel Dasuki. Preliminary evidence showed that Chief Dopesi received between October 2014 and March 2015 from the office of the National Security Adviser with no coherent reasons for the financial transaction. Chief Dopesi said that the received from the Office of the National Security Adviser was payment for media and political campaigns for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan.
Dokpesi pleaded not guilty to the charges and requested that the court grant him bail on liberal terms. The case was adjourned until 10 December 2015. The presiding judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, ordered the EFCC to detain him. He slated 17 February, 18 February, 2 March, and 3 March 2016 to commence the hearing on the six-count charges against him. Prior to the arms procurement saga, Chief Dokpesi and Africa Independent Television were accused of being partisans for airing the 2015 movie The Lion of Bourdillon, which Chief Bola Tinubu considered defamatory. This documentary led to a libel suit against AIT by Chief Bola Tinubu.
On 1 December 2015, Attahiru Bafarawa, the former Governor of Sokoto State, was arrested and detained by the EFCC in connection with the arms procurement deal mentioned by Colonel Dasuki. He was arrested alongside Dokpesi. Evidence showed that Attahiru Bafarawa received from the office of the National Security Adviser with no clear basis for the financial transaction. In response to the allegation, Bafarawa said he received the money from the Office of the National Security Adviser for spiritual purposes.
On 8 December 2015, Chief Dokpesi was arraigned by the Federal Government of Nigeria before a federal high court sitting in Abuja on six counts of money laundering and other financial crimes. The prosecutor maintained that the transfer of a total sum of between October 2014 and March 2015 from the office of the National Security Adviser breaches Section 58(4)(b) of the Public Procurement Act 2007 and is punishable under Sections 58(6) and (7) of the same Act, as well as under Section 17(b) of the EFCC Act, 2004. The family of Bafawara, in a statement signed by Alhaji Yusuf Dingyadi, advised the EFCC to charge Bafawara and his son to court if there is evidence against them rather than keeping them in their custody. According to Thisday, the family of Bafawara said:Today is one week since Bafarawa was detained by the EFCC. And today marks two weeks that his son Sagir Bafarawa has been in detention. Why are they being detained without charges? If the EFCC has any evidence that they have committed any crime it should charge them to court. We thought that the era of detaining people while searching for evidence was over. We call on the EFCC to release them forthwith if they have nothing against them.