The Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission has assembled 22 witnesses to testify against
the immediate-past Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, in court.
The
anti-graft agency is set to arraign the former governor before the Federal High
Court in Lagos on Monday (today) for an alleged fraud of N2.2bn.
It alleged
that Fayose took possession of the money “to fund your 2014 gubernatorial
campaign in Ekiti State, which you reasonably ought to have known formed part
of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: criminal breach of trust/stealing.”
Among the
witnesses lined up to testify against the ex-governor is a former Minister of
State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, and a former Group Managing Director of Diamond
Bank Plc, Mr Alex Otti.
Also to
testify is Ayotunde Owope, said to be Fayose’s account officer.
According to
the EFCC, Owope opened a bank account for Fayose and “he will give evidence on
how funds were transferred from one account into another.”
Obanikoro,
who was listed as the second witness, is expected to testify about how he took
N2.2bn from the then National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, for onward delivery
to Fayose in June 2014.
Obanikoro is
to narrate to the court how Fayose allegedly requested that out of the N2.2bn,
N1.2bn should be delivered to him in cash while the remaining N800m should be
converted to US dollars.
After
arraigning Fayose today (Monday), the EFCC is expected to start calling its
witnesses.
However, It
was reported that Obanikoro, who was listed as the second witness, had left the
country for the US, with no definite return date.
“Obanikoro
travelled out on Wednesday evening, saying he wanted to go for medical
treatment. He gave no date when he would return,” a source in the EFCC told the Media.
Ex-Group
Managing Director, Diamond Bank, Otti, is to tell the court how sometime in
2014, Obanikoro approached him in his office in Lagos, saying he expected the
Central Bank of Nigeria to pay certain sums of money into the Diamond Bank
account of a firm, Sylvan Mcmanara Ltd., and that he needed the money or most
of it transferred to Ekiti.
Otti is
expected to tell the court how Diamond Bank offered to transfer the money
electronically but Obanikoro insisted that he wanted the money delivered in
cash in Ekiti. The bank then charged a fee of five per cent and made
arrangement to transfer the cash to Ekiti the following day.
Fayose will
be standing trial alongside a firm, Spotless Limited.
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