An operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abubakar Aliyu Madaki, who is standing as a prosecution witness, PW13, in the trial of Ayo Fayose, former Ekiti State Governor on Friday, narrated how the ex-governor allegedly stole N1.2 billion.
Fayose and Spotless Investment Limited were first arraigned on October 22, 2018 before Justice Mojisola Olatoregun, before being re-arraigned on July 2, 2019 on 11-count charges bordering on money laundering and stealing to the tune of N6.9bn.
In the case presided on Friday by Justice Chukujekwu Aneke at the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, the witness said the sum of N1,219,000,000 received by Fayose from former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, came from the imprest accounts domiciled in the office of former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd).
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Revealing further the investigation that left to this discovery, Madaki, led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, detailed: “The money was released from the imprest accounts in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, under the control of the former National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd).
“The claim by the first defendant that the N1,219,000,000 received from the former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, was the campaign funds from his political party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was investigated. In our investigations, we contacted the Peoples Democratic Party’s secretariat in Abuja. The party denied receiving any money from the National Security Adviser or from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
“The party also said it did not give any campaign money to Senator Musiliu Obanikoro to give the first defendant. So, the funds moved from Diamond Bank to Zenith Bank were clearly the funds that came from the imprest account, which was under the control of the office of the National Security Adviser to President Goodluck, Jonathan, Colonel Sambo Dasuki,” he said.
According to him, Fayose used the money and bought property worth N270 Million from one Rabiu Kundili in Abuja and also deposited, in a fixed account, the sum of N100 Million out of the N1.2bn.
He said between June 17 and 27, 2014, the sum of N150 Million cash was lodged into the bank account of the second defendant, Spotless Investment Limited, by Biodun Agbele, who was an aide to Fayose.
Madaki also told the court that the sum of N168 million was deposited into Spotless Investment Limited’s bank account on August 24, 2016 and that both Fayose and Agbele could not explain the source of the money deposited into the account of the second defendant.
After listening to the case, the judge adjourned the matter till November 24, 2023 for continuation of trial.