Nigeria: Buhari ally arrested in connection with arms contract embezzlement

A close associate of President Muhammadu Buhari has been arrested for alleged corruption in Nigeria.

Lawal Jafaru Isa, who was a military governor of Kaduna State, under the Sani Abacha regime, was arrested at his home in Abuja on Wednesday, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC ) told AFP.

He is alleged to have been involved in the case of embezzlement in connection with arms contracts.

“It is true that (Mr. Isa) was arrested,” Wilson Uwujaren, spokesman for the EFCC, told AFP. “His arrest is linked to the current investigation on the former national security adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki,” he added.

Mr Dasuki is accused of embezzling some two billion dollars for the purchase of combat aircraft, helicopters, weapons, ammunition in the fight against the Islamist group Boko Haram.

This is the first arrest of someone close to President Buhari who vowed to fight corruption when he was elected.

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of former President Goodluck Jonathan have accused Mr Buhari of witch hunt against the former regime.

Mr. Isa was a Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) candidate for governor in the state of Kano in 2011, the same year Buhari was a presidential candidate for the same party.