TheCable

A total of $202 million is missing from the coffers of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), a house of representatives committee has said.

Addressing reporters in Abuja, Aminu Jaji, chairman of the committee on public safety and national security, said the agency is unable to account for the money.

About $44m reportedly got missing in the vault of the agency, months after NIA was enmeshed in a financial scandal.

This prompted the lawmakers to mandate the committee to probe the matter and report back to them.

But while addressing reporters during the weekend, Jaji said the committee discovered that the actual money unaccounted for in the agency is $202 million.

He said the committee found out that the $44 million said to be missing was actually “moved to a different location”.

He added that the lawmakers also discovered that the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan NIA gave $289 million — which was not appropriated for by the national assembly — to the agency.

“The NIA got the money for ‘intervention’ from the past administration. For whatever reason, the past DG, Ayo Oke failed to disclose to the present administration that we have this amount of money,” he said.

“Even the national security adviser, said it was when our committee began its investigation, they got the information that the NIA got $289 million.

“You know we had a meeting with the NSA, we later discovered since last week in our meeting with the past acting DG NIA that the $44 million is not missing.

“For now, I can categorically tell you the money is not missing. They only moved the money from one agency to another place pending when all the issues surrounding the agency is resolved.

“If you remember, there was this $44 million which is among the $289 million approved to the then director-general, that is Ayo Oke.

“Just April last year, they discovered $43 million in Ikoyi. He tried to say that the $44 million and $43 million are part of the $289 million.

“But for us, we are still working to see where the remaining $202 million was placed. We only know about the $43 million now, the one discovered in Ikoyi and the $44 million in their vault.”

Jaji said the committee intends to unravel where the $289 million is, “not the $43 million nor the $44 million but the entire amount”.

“For me, the money ($202 million) is still missing. If you subtract $43 million and $44 million from $289 million, then where is the balance?” he asked, adding: “That’s why we are where we are today. That is why we have to intensify our investigation.”