N2bn fraud: EFCC witness exonerates 3 Bayelsa officials

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA — The ongoing trial of three officials of the Bayelsa State government accused of diverting N2 billion from the coffers of the state took a new dimension yesterday, as a lead investigative officer of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr Adebayo Adebanjo, under cross-examination, exonerated the accused persons of complicity in the alleged fraud.

Adebanjo, who is the star witness of the anti-graft agency, told a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja that the trial of the accused persons culminated from a fictitious petition which he said was forwarded to the commission by some persons under the aegis of  ‘Concerned Citizens of Bayelsa State.’

He told the court that though subsequent investigation into the matter disclosed that about N380 million was actually laundered from the state treasury through a Bureau de Change operator, Mr Sanni Habibu Maigari, but the said fraud was already perfected before the three embattled officials assumed duty, adding that investigation into the matter was still going on.

Those on trial are the Bayelsa State Commissioner of Finance, Mr Sylva Opuala-Charles;Director of Treasury, Mr Abot Clinton and Director of Finance, Mr Anthony Howells.

The anti-graft agency had earlier discharged the Accountant General of the state, Mr Francis Okokuro, who it said would testify as one of its witnesses in the criminal matter.

However, the EFCC investigator, Adebanjo, who was cross_examined yesterday by the lead defence counsel, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, told the High Court that preliminary investigation on the matter revealed that the purported stolen money was lodged into a Union Bank account earlier opened by the Bayelsa state government.

According to him, “my lord, in the course of our investigations into the allegation, we discovered that the Bayelsa state government validly entered a loan agreement with Union Bank Plc in 2009 and the terms of the transaction was contained in an offer letter that was signed before the accused persons assumed office.

“We also found out that about N3.1 billion taken as collateral, was still there at the time investigation was conducted into the matter and we did not receive any complaint from the Bank that the loan was obtained fraudulently.

“Nevertheless, we discovered that about N380 million earmarked for the settlement of salary of civil servants in the state, found its way into the security votes indicating that the said money was not use for what it was meant for.

“My lord, though N50m payment voucher dated January 21, 2010, was signed in favour of a construction company, Ensen Benmer Ltd, we did not come across anything like an instruction from the Bayelsa state government for the payment of such money.

We visited the company only to discover that it was non_existing, we wrote to the Corporate Affairs Commission, C.A.C, and got both the Certificate of Incorporation and Articles of Association used in registering the said company and found out that the address therein was a fake one.

“In the papers we collected from the CAC, I never saw any of the accused persons as either member or director of the company. The First Bank on March 12, 2011, furnished the EFCC with the account details of the company; we still investigating that aspect of the matter”, he added.

It was at this juncture of the trial that the lead defence counsel, Chief Uche, SAN, prayed the court to compel the prosecuting counsel, Mr Festus Keyamo, to furnish him with the account opening details of the company which he said would further prove the innocence of the accused persons.

His application was vehemently resisted by the EFCC lawyer, who maintained that the burden was on the defence team to approach the Bank for the document which he said was not part of the proof of evidence tendered before the trial court.

Trial Justice Donatus Okorowo yesterday adjourned further hearing on the matter till today