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Two Detained Nigerian Air Force Personnel In Benue Cry Out For Help, Allege Plot To Murder Them Over Cooperative Society Activities

Two detained officers of the Nigeria Air Force in Makurdi, Benue State, have cried out for help over what they described as false accusations levelled against them by senior officers in the service.

The men, Military Warrant Officer Oyebanji and Warrant Officer Paul Atteh, were detained after they set up a Multipurpose Cooperative Society to service soldiers and interested civilians outside of the Nigeria Air Force to the disdain of their superior, one Air Commodore L. I Oluwatoyin, a family source said. 

Air Commodore Oluwatoyin, who is not a member of the cooperative, SaharaReporters gathered subsequently launched an audit of the accounts of the independent group. 


“The headquarters, Tactical Air Command of the Nigerian Air Force, Makurdi, was asked to audit the account and they did and found nothing wrong with the cooperative management. Not satisfied, Air Commodore LI Oluwatoyin requisitioned another audit to be conducted and the Headquarters, Nigerian Air Force Accounts & Budget commissioned a private audit firm and they re-audited the cooperative society and still found nothing,” a source said.

He added that failing to prove any wrongdoing, Air Commodore Oluwatoyin commissioned a private auditing firm, Abba Adadu & Co. who alleged that over N41, 286, 056.57 (Forty-One Million, Two Hundred & Eighty-Six Thousand, Fifty-Six Naira, Fifty-Six Kobo) had been misappropriated as at June 2019 even though records show that the sum was captured as the value of the investment as at June 2019.

SaharaReporters gathered that one Group Captain AO Akinbuwa working in cahoots with Air Commodore Oluwatoyin sent an allegedly false report through a Nigeria Airforce Signal Message accusing one of the detained persons, Military Warrant Officer Oyebanji of stealing fifty million Naira from the cooperative society.

The Nigeria Airforce was again called in and one Captain L. I Nansok who is the Commander Provost of Investigations alleged that Military Warrant Officer Oyebanji misappropriated the sum of forty million, two hundred and seven Naira, seven hundred and sixty Kobo.

On the combined strength of these conflicting figures, the two airmen MWO Oyebanji & WO Atteh have been in detention for the past one year under the guise of a court-martial trial which is suffering endless adjournments just to allow time for them to suffer severely.

Based on the alleged findings of the investigator, the two men have been in detention for one year facing court-martial with “endless adjournments” leading to their suffering, a source said.

The two airforce personnel are now crying out for help after another airman who was detained in a guardroom at the Nigeria Airforce base in Sokoto allegedly committed suicide. 

“Because of the incident, they have removed basic personal hygiene materials like toothbrush & paste, beddings and loin clothes all carted away on grounds that they may do something untoward to themselves.

“But the real question is why are they detained for so long without releasing them to attend the court from their official quarters or from the Mess as is required by the service extant laws? Why would people who have devoted their entire youth in the service of the Air Force be made to sleeping on the bare floor in this 21 century? Even the little beddings provided by their wives have been confiscated from them. Their cream, their comb, toothbrush/paste, loincloth including their food all removed.

“One Air Police Corporal Galadima planted by Air Commodore LI Oluwatoyin and Group Captain AO Akinbuwa has been a torn on their flesh in executing the instructions of his masters. He has of late openly told them to their faces that he is going to poison their food so that they will die and nothing will come out of it.

“How on earth can a man who has declared to the hearing of the public that he will kill the duo of MWO Oyebanji & WO Atteh be allowed to still attend to them if the authorities of the Air Force are not working in collusion with the man to ensure he does their hatched job?,” the Oyebanji family said.

The men and their family called on the Nigeria Airforce and well-meaning Nigerians to come to the aid of the men and ensure their release before it is too late. 

“The offense they are alleged to have committed is not treasonable felony neither are they facing murder charges. The cooperative society in issue does not belong to the Air Force. The Air Force is not a shareholder. It is society owned by some soldiers, retired soldiers and some civilians including the detained airmen. So what exactly is the interest of the Nigerian Air Force and why are they hell-bent on ensuring that these men die in detention?”, the family queried.

They called on the Nigerian public and government to hold Air Commodore L. I Oluwatoyin, Group Captain A. O Akinbuwa, Air Commodore Aliyu the President of the Court Martial and Squadron Leader Umuoh the Judge Advocate responsible if harm comes to the men.

The men, Military Warrant dSocietyetainedOfficer Oyebanji and Warrant Officer Paul Atteh, were  after they set up a Multipurpose Cooperative  to service soldiers and interested civilians outside of the Nigeria Airforce, to the disdain of their superior, one Air Commodore L. I Oluwatoyin, a family source said. 

Air Commodore Oluwatoyin SaharaReporters gathered who is not a member of the cooperative subsequently launched an audit of the accounts of the independent cooperative society. 

“The headquarters, Tactical Air Command of the Nigerian Air Force, Makurdi was asked to audit the account and they did and found nothing wrong with the cooperative management. Not satisfied, Air Commodore LI Oluwatoyin requisitioned another audit to be conducted and the Headquarters, Nigerian Air Force Accosourceunts & Budget commissioned a private Audit Firm and they re-audited the cooperative society and still found nothing,” a  said.

He added that failing to prove any wrongdoing, Air Commodore LI Oluwatoyin commissioned a private auditing firm, Abba Adadu & Co. who alleged that over N41, 286, 056.57 (Forty-One Million, Two Hundred & Eighty-Six Thousand, Fifty-Six Naira, Fifty-Six Kobo) had been misappropriated as at June 2019 even though records showed that the sum was captured as the value of the investment as at June 2019.

SaharaReporters gathered that one Group Captain AO Akinbuwa working in cahoots with Air Commodore Oluwatoyin sent an allegedly false report through a Nigeria Air Force Signal accusing one of the detained persons, Military Warrant Officer Oyebanji of stealing N50m from the cooperative society.

The Nigeria Air Force was again called in and one Captain L. I Nansok, who is the Commander Provost of Investigations, alleged that Military Warrant Officer Oyebanji misappropriated the sum of forty million, two hundred and seven naira, seven hundred and sixty Kobo.

Based on the alleged findings of the investigator, the two men have been in detention for one year facing court-martial with “endless adjournments” leading to their suffering, a source said.

The two air force personnel are now crying out for help after another airman who was detained in a guardroom at the Nigeria Air Force base in Sokoto allegedly committed suicide. 

“Because of the incident, they have removed basic personal hygiene materials like toothbrush & paste, beddings and loin clothes all carted away on grounds that they may do something untoward to themselves.

“But the real question is why are they detained for so long without releasing them to attend the court from their official quarters or from the Mess as is required by the service extant laws? Why would people who have devoted their entire youth in the service of the Air Force be made to be sleeping on the bare floor in this 21st century? Even the little beddings provided by their wives have been confiscated from them. Their cream, their comb, toothbrush/paste, loincloth including their food all removed.

“One Air Police Corporal Galadima planted by Air Commodore LI Oluwatoyin and Group Captain AO Akinbuwa has been a thorn on their flesh in executing the instructions of his masters. He has of late openly told them to their faces that he is going to poison their food so that they will die and nothing will come out of it.

“How on earth can a man who has declared to the hearing of the public that he will kill the duo of MWO Oyebanji & WO Atteh be allowed to still attend to them if the authorities of the Air Force are not working in collusion with the man to ensure he does their hatched job?,” the Oyebanji family said.

The men and their family called on the Nigeria Air Force and well-meaning Nigerians to come to the aid of the men and ensure their release before it is too late. 

“The offense they are alleged to have committed is not treasonable felony neither are they facing murder charges. The cooperative society in issue does not belong to the Air Force. The Air Force is not a shareholder. It is society owned by some soldiers, retired soldiers and some civilians including the detained airmen. So what exactly is the interest of the Nigerian Air Force and why are they hell-bent on ensuring that these men die in detention?”, the family queried.

They called on the Nigerian public and government to hold Air Commodore L. I Oluwatoyin, Group Captain A. O Akinbuwa, Air Commodore Aliyu, the President of the Court Martial and Squadron Leader Umuoh, the Judge Advocate responsible if harm comes to the men.

Source: saharareporters.com