Inside Nigeria
How Obanikoro Allegedly Collected N1.2bn -EFCC’s Witness Gives Court Details
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday June 24, 2019, presented a fresh witness who told Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court Abuja, how the former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, was handed over the sum of NI.2 billion cash.
At the last trial, Abiodun Agbele, an aide of the former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, narrated how he coordinated the movement of N1.2 billion slush fund in the build-up to the Ekiti governorship election in 2014.
At the court hearing today, the prosecution counsel, Wahab Shittu, presented Damola Otuyalo, the former Head of Cash and Transit, Diamond Bank Plc, who gave a vivid account of how the alleged sum was moved out of the local wing of the Lagos Airport and eventually handed over to Obanikoro.
According to Otuyalo, they arranged 65 big bags known as jumbo bags, content of which was money. He said they waited for some time before they could be able to off-load the cash from the aircraft. The witness also said that his director called him on phone and asked him to hand over the cash to Mr Musiliu Obanikoro.
He identified exhibit AA13, a copy of the instruction given to him by his director to pass the money and it was admitted in evidence.
After hearing the witness, Justice Dimgba adjourned the case to October 4, 2019