Daud Olatunji
In a testimony at a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court, Kazeem Yusuf, an officer of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has disclosed that N4.6 billion from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) was allegedly diverted to organize prayers for Nigeria.
Yusuf was testifying as the second prosecution witness (PW2) in the trial of Bashir Yuguda, a former minister of state for finance, who is facing charges of misappropriation, criminal breach of trust, and receiving stolen property.
The investigation, initiated after a petition from ONSA, revealed that Dalhatu Investment Limited, among 78 companies, received money without proper documentation for bid contracts.
Yusuf detailed that an analysis of Dalhatu Investment Limited’s account showed N4.6 billion received in instalments between 2014 and 2015, with N783 million traced to the SAS account.
Sagir, representing the company, reportedly claimed the funds were intended for prayers due to prevailing insecurity.
Yusuf stated that Sagir provided a breakdown of the expenditure, listing beneficiaries such as a former senator, Abdallah Wali, who received N580 million for a gubernatorial election campaign in Sokoto in 2015.
Other beneficiaries included Muazu Madawaki, former secretary of the Pilgrims and Welfare Agency, Ibrahim Maigoma, former Sokoto PDP chairman, Yahaya Dada, Sani Kabir, and INEC.
The witness disclosed that money intended for security equipment was diverted for personal use, including the purchase of vehicles distributed to PDP local government chairmen in Sokoto.
Amanze Obi allegedly received N15.3 million for political publicity for Bafarawa’s 2015 presidential campaign, and £123,000 was transferred to a UK bank to offset a mortgage for Bafarawa, while N1 billion went to Bureaux de Change for conversion to dollars.
The EFCC had invited the defendants for interviews, where they volunteered statements.
However, during the trial, objections were raised about the voluntariness of Sagir’s statements, leading to the presiding judge ordering a trial-within-trial to determine their admissibility.
The trial is adjourned until February 14.
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