The trial of Robert Azibaola, his wife, Stella, and their company, One Plus Holdings Limited, for offences bordering on money laundering, continued before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on November 18, 2016 with two prosecution witnesses, Kabiru Yaro and Babatunde Adeniyi, giving details of how a property in Maitama, Abuja, which came up in the course of investigating Azibaola’s company, was purchased.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is prosecuting the couple on a seven-count charge, bordering on money laundering, criminal breach of trust and corruption, for allegedly diverting $40million from the Office of National Security Adviser, ONSA, purportedly meant for the supply of tactical communication kits for Special Forces.
Yaro, the third prosecution witness, while being led in evidence by EFCC counsel, Sylvanus Tahir, gave details of how the said property was paid for by Ambassador Hassan Tukur, a former aide to ex-president, Goodluck Jonathan, whom he said was his friend.
Describing himself as a consultant and chairman of Colby Resources Limited, Yaro told the court that in October 2014, a friend of his, Nuuman Dambatta, contacted him that he had two properties to sell in Kano and Maitama. Dambatta, according to Yaro, requested him to contact the ambassador if he was interested in the Maitama property.
“I called my friend, Ambassador Tukur and informed him that my friend had a property for sale, because he needed financial assistance,” he said.
He further told the court that with Tukur showing interest in the property, he arranged for a meeting between the two of them.
“Nuuman called me to let me know that a valuation had been made on the property and it had been put at N650 million, which the ambassador said he had got a buyer for, but he didn’t tell us who it was,” Yaro said.
He added that: “Later, in December 2014, the money was paid to Dambatta’s estate agent. He called me to say that the payment he received came from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and I told him he should call and ask the ambassador why the money came from there.”
With the transaction concluded, Yaro told the court that he was not at the meeting noting that the handing over was between Dambatta and the property buyers.
“I don’t know what else transpired until this matter came up, and I did not receive even N1, I did not do this for any commission,” he stated.
The credit of N650million received from the CBN, according to Adeniyi, the fourth prosecution witness, who is an estate surveyour and valuer, had the creditor’s name as NEFT/ONSA, an indication that it was from the Imprest account of the Office of National Security Adviser domiciled in the CBN.
Explaining his role in the transaction, Adeniyi told the court that Dambatta was a client of his, who owned the said property located at 15 Rio Negro Street, Maitama, which his company, Tunji Adeniyi & Co had managed since 2010.
“I do not know any of the defendants, I’ve never seen them in my life, but in the course of my professional duty, I came across the name One Plus Holdings through my client,” he said.
Adeniyi further told the court that he signed the sale documents, which was prepared in the name of One Plus Holdings, as a witness of the property seller. A legal firm, M.B. Shehu & Co, according to him, prepared the documents, which he signed as a witness.
“The assignor is Alhaji Nuuman Barau Dambatta and the buyer was One Plus Holding,” he stated.
Adeniyi narrated how he was mandated by Dambatta to hand over the property to one Abubakar, and a representative of One Plus Holdings. He identified the handover documents presented in court, which were tendered and accepted as exhibits.
Defence lawyer, Chris Uche (SAN), while cross-examining Adeniyi, however, argued that his statement was obtained by the EFCC as a suspect and not as a witness. He thereafter, sought to tender the statement as exhibit. Tahir objected to the admission of the statement, but the trial judge overruled his objection.
Justice Dimgba later adjourned to January 30, 2017 for continuation of trial.
Source: EFCCNIGERIA.ORG
No comments:
Post a Comment