Editor’s note: One of the most scandalous investigations launched by the Muhammadu Buhari’s government is the case of former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki. Julia Payne of the Reuters analyses how this case will affect Buhari’s anti-corruption war. Read her analysis below....

The trial of the former security adviser Dasuki and his associates

True to his election promises, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has gone all out on corruption, alleging mind-boggling sums plundered from state coffers and giving investigators licence to pull in big hitters once thought untouchable.

Now comes the hard part: making the charges stick.

The first test comes on Wednesday with the opening of the trial of former National Security Advisor Sambo Dasuki, accused of fraud over $68 million of defence spending, part of a wider $2.1 billion in arms deals under scrutiny. Dasuki will be joined in court by ex-minister of state for finance Bashir Yuguda, an ex-director of finances at the NSA and a former head of the state oil firm, who also face corruption charges. Former defence minister Bello Haliru Mohammed has separately been accused of fraud and colluding with Dasuki. They have all pleaded not guilty.

Nigerians gripped by reports of missing millions

Most of the funds alleged to have been misused were earmarked for the fight against Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which has killed thousands in northeast Nigeria in the last seven years. The allegations have dominated television bulletins and newspapers for weeks, an indication of how badly Nigerians want to see justice for those who they believe have been stealing with impunity for years.

Although an immediate adjournment is likely, longer-term a successful trial and conviction is crucial for Buhari, a 73-year-old former military ruler who won the election last year largely on the back of vows to get tough on graft. “Dasuki’s trial is very significant because it addresses the challenge of impunity that we have seen in government,” said Clement Nwankwo, director of the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, a think-tank in Abuja.

The biggest corruption conviction since the return to civilian rule in 1999 - complete story @ http://www.exlinklodge.com/2016/01/nigeria-news-how-dasuki-puts-buharis.html



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If the anticorruption war is for real he should first of all investigate how and where his campaign funds emanated from...people living in glass houses should not throw stones.

talktonase:
If the anticorruption war is for real he should first of all investigate how and where his campaign funds emanated from...people living in glass houses should not throw stones.

Keep quiet there. If you are not happy Ghana,Burundi, Rwanda,cameroon are not far. Thank me when you reach there

mcee1:
Keep quiet there. If you are not happy Ghana,Burundi, Rwanda,cameroon are not far. Thank me when you reach there

u sound like a Sai baba sympathizer.