More revelations were made on
Thursday at a Federal High Court in Lagos in the ongoing trial of a former
Minister of State for Finance, Nenandi Usman, who is facing a corruption
charge.
A bank official and witness told
the court how N250 million was transferred into an ex-minister’s account from a
company.
The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Usman alongside Femi Fani-Kayode, a former
Minister of Aviation and the Chairman of the 2015 Goodluck Jonathan
Presidential Campaign Organisation.
Others are a former National
Chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Yusuf
Danjuma and a company — Jointrust Dimentions Nigeria Ltd.
The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission had slammed a 17-count charge bordering on laundering of N4.6
billion.
They, however, pleaded not guilty
to the charges and were were granted bails.
At the resumed hearing of the
case on Thursday, Counsel to the third and fourth accused, Mr Clement
Onwuenwuno, began cross-examination of the second prosecution witness,Mr Teslim
Ajuwon, who was still under oath.
Onwuenwunor ask the witness to
confirm his position in the bank and he confirmed that he was a compliance
officer.
Onwuenwunor: Are you the
relationship officer or the account officer?
Witness: Neither.
Onwuenwunor asked the witness if
he made any statement at EFCC and he responded in the negative.
Onwuenwunor: Before your bank’s
letter to the EFCC in February 2016, did your bank raise any query on the
account of the fourth accused?
Witness: I am not sure.
Onwuenwunor: Who is a signatory
to the fourth accused bank account (exhibit eight)?
Witness: Mr Yusuf Danjuma, the
third accused.
Onwuenwunor: In your bank, is it
wrong for the third accused to instruct transfer of money to any person?
Witness: It is his mandate.
No re-examination was taken, and
the PW2 was discharged.
The EFCC prosecutor, Mr Rotimi
Oyedepo, called the third witness, Mrs Shedlis Gana, who swore on the Holy
Bible before proceeding to give her testimony.
Gana told the court that she was
the branch manager of the Ghana Street branch of Zenith Bank, where the second
and fourth accuseds’ accounts are domiciled.
When asked if she knew all the
accused, she responded in the affirmative for the accused persons, except the
third accused.
Oyedepo: How do you know the
second accused?
Witness: He is a former minister
and an account officer in my branch, Gloria Chibuikem, opened a personal
account for the second accused.
The witness, being directed by
the EFCC prosecutor, proceeded to identify instruction letters sent by the
accused to the bank for funds transfer to some other accounts.
Gana further matched the debit
instruction letters received from the second accused with entries made in
Exhibit 7 (second accused’s statement of account).
The witness identified a N250
million debit instruction from Jointrust Dimentions Nigeria Ltd. to credit
another account.
Oyedepo: Whose account was
credited with that N250 million from Jointrust Dimentions Nigeria Ltd. account?
Witness: Second accused.
In his cross-examination, Counsel
to the first accused, Mr Ferdinand Orbih (SAN) asked the witness: Have you ever
had cause to complain, that any document submitted to EFCC by your bank, was
doctored?
The witness replied: An issue
arose like that.
Orbih: That doctored document is
it part of the documents you analyzed before this court today?
Witness: Yes it is.
Orbih: Who doctored those
documents?
Witness: People photocopying the
documents, Mr Peter Alemo and Mr Alozie Alaka.
Orbih: Were they the same staff,
that photocopied all the documents sent to the EFCC?
Witness: Yes, they were.
Orbih: Who discovered the
doctored documents?
Witness: EFCC did.
Orbih: Do you know if any other
document was doctored?
Witness: No, I don’t know.
Orbih: Did you personally carry
out any of the transactions?
Witness: No, I didn’t.
Orbih, further asked if the
witness could confirm that the cheques, previously tendered into evidence, were
not doctored; she replied that she could not confirm.
Orbih: Can you authoritatively
say it was the second accused that cashed the cheques?
Witness: I cannot authoritatively
say that the account officer told me.
Orbih took the witness through
the statement of account of one MFA Research Project, Abuja, in Zenith Bank to
identify the outflow of N800 million to the fourth accused.
The witness confirmed that it was
also reflected on the forth accused’s statement of account (Exhibit 8).
Justice Aikawa has adjourned
until March 2 for continuation of trial. (NAN)
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