Reps disagree over Badeh’s arms fund diversion trial

Badeh was shot dead on Tuesday night on the Abuja-Keffi Expressway on his way back from his farm. He was said to have been shot along with his driver. At the plenary on Thursday, several members of the House condemned the killing, while decrying the rising insecurity in the country. The House had adopted a motion on ‘The Need to Investigate the Killing of Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh,’ moved by Mr Abdulrahman Shuaibu Abubakar. Commenting, Mr Bashir Babale, took a swipe at the deceased, making reference to his trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for alleged diversion of funds meant for arms purchase. Babale said, “What happened to Alex Badeh, I am not praying for it to happen to my worst enemy, but I think it is a food for thought for anybody. Anyone who finds himself in the position of authority; if you are given an authority, you have to discharge it with the fear of God. “I don’t want to be a sycophant, saying that he is a selfless man, that he served his country, no! There are issues as regards to late Alex Badeh on corruption. And for me, I will only address him as (a) selfless person who stood for Nigeria when his name is cleared with regards (to) high level allegations of corruption, with regards to arm purchases in order to fight Boko Haram in Nigeria. “Because I am from Kano, I know the quantum of number of peoples’ lives we lost in Kano. Just in a day, we lost over 1000 lives during the Boko Haram saga in Kano and later on, we found out that some people were given authority to purchase arms but they decided to sit on the money, siphoned the money and used it for their personal benefits. “So, for me, I will only address Badeh as a selfless individual when his name is cleared with regard to financial misconduct during his era.” Several members who spoke after Babale, however, faulted him for comments on the late ex-CDS, but the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, said the lawmaker’s comments were misrepresented. While faulting the timing, they noted that Badeh was no more alive to defend himself against the allegations. In his contribution, Mr Toby Okechukwu said, “The way people are being killed in this country shows that our security outfits are not working. They are not doing what they are supposed to do. If a general can be killed like that, you can now imagine what ordinary Nigerians are going through every day. “It is very sad. I understand that the first thing that will come to mind is about corruption allegations against him. Unfortunately, he is not here to answer all of that. “It is a pity that after risking his life to serve Nigeria, he now died like a commoner and this shows that Nigeria’s democracy is gone.” Another member, Chike Adamu, said, “Whether he is corrupt or not is not the matter; how will he be killed in that manner? This is an incident that happened close to the seat of power, where you have the President, his deputy, the Senate President, including you, Mr Speaker.”]]>