A former Minister of State for
Defence, Sen. Musiliu Obanikoro, on Monday claimed that ex-governor of Ekiti
State, Ayodele Fayose received $5m from the impress account from the Office of
the former National Security Adviser, ONSA, in June 2014.
Obanikoro made the disclosure
while testifying at a Federal High court in Lagos, where Fayose is facing
charges of N6.9 billion fraud.
Fayose was arraigned by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on October 22, 2018, alongside
a company Spotless Investment Ltd. on 11 counts.
The former governor pleaded not
guilty to the charges, and was granted him bail in the sum of N50 million with
one surety in like sum.
But at the resumption of trial,
on Monday, Mr Rotimi Jacobs, who appeared as counsel for the EFCC, called on
Obanikoro, the fifth prosecution witness, to give evidence.
NAN reports that Messrs Kanu
Agabi (SAN) and Olalekan Ojo (SAN) represented the first and second accused
respectively.
The counsel led the former
minister in evidence.
Jacobs asked him where he was in
2014 and he told the court that he was the Minister of State for Defence.
The counsel then asked him to
tell the court what he knew about the case.
The witness testified that in
June 2014 when the Ekiti State governorship election was near, he received a
call from the accused, enquiring from him if there was any ‘message’ for him
from the then National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki.
The witness said that he told
Fayose that there was none but promised to check with the NSA and give Fayose a
feedback.
He told the court that
eventually, the NSA confirmed to him that he had a “message” for the accused
and that the funds would be made available.
The prosecutor then showed the
witness exhibit E to confirm if it was the account to which the funds were
transferred, and the witness replied: “Yes”.
The witness told the court that
on June 13, 2014, and June 16, 2014, funds were posted into the account, adding
that the funds were from the impress account of the NSA.
He said that he asked the accused
how he wanted the money, and he told him that some amounts should be paid in
Naira and others in dollars.
According to him, the money was
eventually brought in a bullion van to the private wing of the Ikeja airport,
where one Agbele, sent by the accused, was on standby.
He testified that after
confirmation from the accused, the money was taken to Ekiti.
The witness told the court that
afterwards, he went to Ado-Ekiti to meet the accused in his hotel, known as
Spotless, and gave him the dollar component which was five million dollars.
The prosecution counsel asked
Obanikoro how many days it was to the Ekiti governorship election when he gave
Fayose the money.
“About three days to the
election,” the witness replied.
Prosecution also asked the former
minister the source of the money.
“The NSA is the only person that
can ascertain the source of the money; it is from the impress account of the
NSA,” he said.
The counsel asked how the money
was debited and the witness told court that he gave instructions to the managing
director of the Diamond bank, but was not available when the deductions were
made.
When asked his connection with
the accounts, Obanikoro said that it was used for security purposes, adding
that he would not want to divulge further information on that.
After the evidence, the defence
sought an adjournment to enable it to cross-examine the witness.
After several objections and
counter objections, the court granted an adjournment until February 4 for the
cross-examination of Obanikoro.
The EFCC said that on June 17,
2014, Fayose and Agbele took possession of N1.2 billion for purposes of funding
his gubernatorial election campaign.
The commission said that the
accused reasonably ought to have known that the sum formed part of crime proceeds.
It alleged that Fayose received a
cash payment of five million dollars (about N1.8 billion) from Obanikoro
without going through any financial institution, adding that the sum exceeded
the amount allowed by law.
It also accused Fayose of
retaining N300 million in his Zenith Bank account and taking control of the
aggregate sums of about N622 million which sum he ought to have known formed
part of crime proceeds.
Fayose was also alleged to have
procured De Privateer Ltd. and Still Earth Ltd., to retain in their Zenith and
FCMB accounts, the aggregate sums of N851 million which formed part of crime
proceeds.
He was also accused of illegally
used the aggregate sums of about N1.6 billion to acquire properties in Lagos
and Abuja.
The accused was also alleged to
have used the sum of N200 million to acquire a property in Abuja in the name of
his elder sister Moji Oladeji, which sum he ought to know also formed crime
proceeds.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
reports that the alleged offences contravene Sections 15(1), 15 (2), 15 (3),
16(2)(b), 16 (d), and 18 (c) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011.
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Obanikoro you are only dancing the drum the masquerade is beating for you but time will tell and there will be no escape root for you
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