A financial institution official on Tuesday gave particulars of security funds the Sambo Dasuki-led Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) received from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation in 2015, and the way the funds had been transferred to varied beneficiaries.
Arhyel Mshelia, a compliance officer with Access Bank, testified earlier than the FCT High Court in Maitama because the third prosecution witness in an over-a-decade-long N4.6 billion arms procurement fraud trial case involving Mr Dasuki.
Mr Mshelia narrated how the security funds made their methods into the accounts of Jabbama Ada Global Services, Jawas Multipurpose Ventures and Onile Nigeria Limited in 2015.
Mr Dasuki has been standing trial within the case since 2015 alongside former Sokoto State Governor Attahiru Bafarawa, his son Sagir Bafarawa, former Minister of State for Finance Bashir Yuguda, and Dalhatu Investment Limited.
Mr Dasuki and his co-defendants are dealing with 25 counts of misappropriation, felony breach of belief and receiving stolen property.
The prices accuse them of diverting N4.6 billion from the NSA workplace’s account. The cash was mentioned to be meant for procurement of arms to agency up the offensive towards Boko Haram terrorists throughout former President Goodluck Jonathan administration, between 2014 and 2015.
They all pleaded not responsible.
Details of transactions
Going by way of the assertion of the ONSA’s account on Tuesday, the witness knowledgeable the court docket that the previous NSA, Mr Dasuki, and one Salisu Abdulmalik Shaibu was once signatories to the account with Access Bank.
Arhyel mentioned on 16 March 2015, there was an influx credit score of N500 million from the CBN; the quantity was disbursed on 25 March, 2015.
Similarly, the account was credited with N5 billion on 10 April 2015. On 16 April 2015, N27 million and N400 million had been despatched to Jabbama Ada Global Limited.
The signatory to Jabbama Ada was Salisu Umar Garu, the witness mentioned.
He additionally mentioned Jabbama Ada received N500 million on 5 February 2015 and N1 billion on 16 April 2015 from the ONSA’s workplace.
From the Federation Allocation Account Committee’s (FAAC’s) account with the OAGF, the corporate received N38 million and N25 million on 6 and seven January 2015, respectively and N55 million on 5 February 2015.
According to the witness, Onile Nigeria Limited, whose signatory is Tom Ikimi, received N200 million and N100 million from ONSA on 9 and 18 February 2015. Jawas Multipurpose Ventures additionally received N2 billion, he mentioned.
During cross-examination by the defence, the witness mentioned he didn’t know the aim of the transactions. He additionally disclosed that Jabbama Ada was concerned in general contracts, oil and gasoline, buy and resale of lands and transport.
He additionally famous transfers to defence headquarters.
Fielding questions from Mr Yuguda and Dalhatu Investment Limited’s lawyer, James Olatoke, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), the witness mentioned he didn’t know of any relationship between Jabbama Ada and his purchasers.
He additionally famous transfers from different people and corporations apart from the ONSA and CBN.
Thereafter, the decide adjourned the case to 17 November.
The prosecution’s case
The first prosecution witness, Hamza Abdullahi, who served because the second-in-command of the EFCC’s Special Task Force that investigated the alleged arms procurement fraud within the NSA workplace, had testified that N4.633 billion was traced to Dalhatu Investment Limited. He mentioned Mr Sagir, the son of the previous Sokoto governor, is the corporate’s sole account signatory.
The second prosecution witness, Mr Yusuf, had additionally testified that funds had been launched from the NSA workplace for the provision of security tools however that the contracts weren’t executed.
He mentioned that in the course of the investigation, Mr Sagir introduced a listing exhibiting how the funds had been used.
The witness mentioned the funds had been used to sponsor pilgrimage to Mecca and partly used for the 2015 political campaigns of the then-ruling social gathering, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
READ ALSO: Court rejects key evidence in Dasuki’s N33.2bn trial
He listed the recipients of the funds to incorporate Sheikh AbdurRahman Al-Sudais Foundation (N500 million), belonging to former Governor Bafarawa, and 2015 Sokoto PDP governorship candidate, Abdallah Wali, who allegedly received N580 million by way of an organization.
The case is among the twin arms procurement fraud issues filed towards Mr Dasuki and his co-defendants over the streams of funds he launched from NSA workplace accounts between 2014 and 2015.
In the opposite trial, the EFCC is prosecuting Mr Dasuki, a retired colonel, alongside a former General Manager on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Aminu Baba-Kusa; Acacia Holdings Limited; and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited on 32 counts of fraud involving diversion of N33.2 billion arms funds entrusted to the NSA workplace.
In March, the EFCC re-arraigned the defendants on felony breach of belief, amongst different prices, following the reassignment of the case that began in 2015 to a brand new decide, Charles Agbaza.
The defendants denied all prices as they did after they had been first arraigned in 2015.
The two circumstances suffered a number of adjournments of their early years, largely because of the State Security Services (SSS) refusing to launch Mr Dasuki on bail regardless of a number of court docket orders.
Mr Dasuki served as NSA between 2012 and 2015, on the top of Boko Haram assaults in Nigeria’s North-east, in the course of the administration of then-President Goodluck Jonathan.
An audit panel arrange by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, who got here to workplace after defeating Mr Jonathan within the 2015 presidential election, revealed that about $2 billion entrusted to the workplace of the NSA, then led by Mr Dasuki, for procurement of arms couldn’t be accounted for.
The EFCC, which instituted a number of prices towards various individuals who received funds from the NSA workplace, alleged that the arms funds had been doled out to mates, relations, political allies, significantly members of the PDP, for functions unrelated to the acquisition of arms.
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