Obanikoro claims that the funds were moved from the NSA’s main account.
On Tuesday, Mr. Musiliu Obanikoro, a former minister of state for defence, explained to the Federal High Court in Lagos how N1.2 billion reportedly went to former Ekiti state governor Ayodele Fayose for his reelection.
Obanikoro was the 12th witness for the prosecution in the case against Fayose that was brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The case was about fraud and money laundering.
The N1.2 billion, according to the former minister, was deposited in two batches into the account of a business called Sivan Mcmera and used to pay for covert security operations to stop terrorist activities in Lagos State.
He claimed that before he became a minister, his son managed the account that belonged to him.
But he said that after being named minister, he took control of the account and used it to pay for security activities in Lagos through the NSA’s office.
Speaking from the document the prosecution’s attorney had provided him, Obanikoro stated that the account initially received N200 million on June 5, 2014, and then N2 billion on June 16.
He said that the money came from the NSA’s impress account.
He acknowledged that he knew the late Mr. Kareem Taiwo and added that Taiwo was one of those who assisted with security activities.
He further informed the court that Fayose, who was running for governor of Ekiti at the time, had called him and inquired as to whether he had gotten any funding from the Office of the NSA.
The witness testified to the court that he gave a “no” response and made a promise to contact the defendant once the money had been received.
He said that he informed the defendant and sought his instructions when the money eventually fell into his hands.
According to Obanikoro’s testimony, Fayose said that one portion should be in dollars and the other in Nigerian naira.
The former minister claimed that after calling a bank in Ado-Ekiti to inquire about the amount, he was told that the branch did not have any.
He explained to the court that he had to fly the money out of Lagos because elections were approaching quickly at the time.
According to him, the cash was transported in two portions.
He claimed that while the remainder was loaded onto a different aircraft, the initial batch was loaded onto the plane that carried him.
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According to Obanikoro, the total was N1.2 billion.
Although he could not remember the precise quantity, Obanikoro continued by saying that the dollars were obtained through a bureau de change.
He testified before the court that he noticed the defendant’s assistant when he arrived in Akure, who came over and introduced himself.
He claimed to have called Fayose after that and asked for the money to be given to the assistant.
The witness testified in court that he then gave his orderly instructions to accompany the assistant as he went to Ado-Ekiti to meet Fayose.
In his testimony, Obanikoro described seeing a bullion van arrive in Akure to collect the cash.
He claimed he later bumped into Fayose in an Ado Ekiti hotel and informed him what happened there.
The matter has been postponed by the court until the start of the trial on February 1.
Background
On October 22, 2018, Justice Mojisola Olatotegun arraigned Fayose and his firm, Spotless Investment Ltd., on 11 counts.
On October 24, 2018, he was given bail in the amount of N50 million with sureties in the same amount after entering a not guilty plea to the allegations.
On July 2, 2019, the case was transferred from Justice Olatoregun to Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke as a result of the EFCC’s plea.
Also entering a not guilty plea, Fayose was permitted to remain free on the already set bond.
Since then, the EFCC has presented its case to Justice Aneke, and it is still calling witnesses to testify.
The commission called Mrs. Joanne Tolulope as its eleventh witness in December 2021. She described how one Abiodun Agbele, who was supposedly a friend of Fayose, allegedly purchased real estate worth millions of naira for the defendants.
The prosecution called Obanikoro and called witnesses from a number of commercial banks during the trial before Olatoregun.
The accusation against Fayose is that on June 17, 2014, he and Abiodun Agbele fraudulently obtained N1.2 billion to use as campaign money for his gubernatorial election campaign in Ekiti.
Additionally, it is claimed that Fayose received a cash payment directly from Obanikoro in the amount of $5,000,000 (or around N1.8 billion).
Additionally, he is accused of illegally keeping N300 million in a bank account and N622 million in his possession.
The EFCC claims that the former governor had a reasonable expectation of knowing that the funds were part of the proceeds of crime.
Additionally, it claims that the defendants got De Privateer Ltd. and Still Earth Ltd. to keep $N851 million illegally.
According to the report, Fayose bought property in Lagos and Abuja with roughly N1.6 billion in proceeds from crime.
Additionally, the committee accused Fayose of using N200 million in proceeds from criminal activity to buy an Abuja house in the name of his older sister, Moji Oladeji.
The alleged offences violate the 2011 Money Laundering Prohibition Act’s Sections 15(1), 15(2), 15(3), 16(2)(b), 16(d), and 18(c).
