The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission on Tuesday closed its case against a former Head of Service
of the Federation, Mr. Stephen Oronsaye, who is being prosecuted on
charges of criminal breach of trust involving alleged diversion of
N382.9m belonging to the Federal Government.
The sixth and the last prosecution
witness, Mr. Hammaadama Bello, concluded his testimony under
cross-examination by two defence lawyers, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN) and Ade
Okeaya-Inneh (SAN), before the High Court of the Federal Capital
Territory in Maitama, Abuja.
Bello said on Tuesday that Oronsaye
received N50m in cash from the former National Security Adviser, Col.
Sambo Dasuki (retd.) in breach of the threshold set by the anti-money
laundering law.
He insisted that the secret bank account
with which Oronsaye allegedly diverted the total sum of N382.9m in the
name of the Presidential Committee on Financial Action Task Force, was
not authorised by the Office of the Accountant-General of the
Federation.
In the amended seven counts preferred
against the accused person, he was accused of criminal breach of trust
involving allegations that between 2013 and 2015 he converted the total
sum of N382.9m belonging to the committee to his personal use.
The EFCC alleged that Oronsaye sourced
the sum of N382.9m from the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Office of
the National Security Adviser in the name of the PCFATF and deposited it
in a secret account with Access Bank Plc without the knowledge of other
members of the committee.
The prosecution alleged that Oronsaye
invested the money at nine per cent interest rate in the said secret
account which he allegedly opened and operated unilaterally as the sole
signatory unknown to other committee members.
It said the only account of the PCFATF
known to all members of the committee and which Oronsaye and the then
secretary to the committee, Mr. Jalal Arabi (now Permanent Secretary,
Presidential State House), were its co-signatories was the one kept with
Zenith Bank Plc.
The prosecution told the trial judge,
Justice Olasunbo Goodluck that the alleged offences were contrary to
section 311 and punishable under section 315 of the Penal Code Act.
Fielding questions from Agabi on
Tuesday, Bello insisted that the N50m, part of the N382.9m allegedly
diverted, came from the funds meant for the procurement of arms by the
ONSA.
Responding to a question, the witness said the NSA was wrong to have given such money in cash to Oronsaye.
The witness said after Oronsaye received
the money, he (Oronsaye) made structured payments in five transactions
of N9m each amounting to N45m to the secret account with Access Bank and
kept the balance of N5m in hand.
Bello said the committee in whose name the defendant received the N50m from ONSA never got the money.
He said Oronsaye also failed to justify the spending of the money on behalf of the committee when asked to do so.
Bello said the office of the
Accountant-General of the Federation when asked about the accounts
operated by the PCFATF, it only sent the Zenith Bank account with
details of funds legitimately paid into it.
He also insisted that contrary to the
situation in Oronsaye’s case when the former Head of Service served as
the sole signatory to the account opened in the name of a Federal
Government’s committee, there must be at least two signatories to such
account.
He added, “I interviewed Mr. Jalal
Arabi, the secretary to the Presidential Committee on FATF and the then
State House counsel, and he told me that himself as the secretary and
Mr. Stephen Oronsaye as the Chairman were signatories to the committee’s
account.
Justice Goodluck later adjourned till December 9 for the defence to open its case.
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