A prosecution witness, Abubakar Madaki has told a Federal High Court in Lagos that former Governor Ayodele Fayose did not personally make any of the financial transactions relevant to the charge before the court.
He stated this during the cross-examination in the ongoing trial of Fayose for ₦6.9 billion in fraud and money laundering.
Fayose is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He was first arraigned on October 22, 2018, before Justice Mojisola Olatotegun alongside his company, Spotless Investment Ltd., on 11 counts bordering on fraud.
At the resumed trial on Monday, the prosecutor, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), called Madaki, who is an Investigating Officer with the EFCC, to enter the witness box in continuation of his cross-examination.
Under cross-examination, the second defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), called for exhibit D12 and asked the witness to look through and confirm to the court if there was any transaction relevant to the charge which was personally made by the first defendant.
In response, the witness replied: “There is none.”
The defence counsel also asked the witness if he recalled telling the court that he did not witness any of the transactions in the case. The witness replied, “I only said it was in the course of investigation.”
On whether he acted based on facts in his investigation, the witness replied, “Yes, very well my lord.”
When further asked if the facts were made available to him by persons who saw or participated in the transactions, the witness replied, “Yes, in the course of investigations.”
The defence counsel asked the witness whether all conclusions tendered or made available to the court, including the investigations made in respect to the charge took their root from facts which he was either told or read.
In response, the witness replied, “Yes, including documents recovered in the course of investigations.”
When asked by Ojo if he came across any document where Fayose had acknowledged receipt of any amount of dollars from one Obanikoro, the witness replied that there was no document of acknowledgement.
Under further cross-examination by the first defence counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Ola Olanipekun, the witness was asked to confirm his earlier evidence that the sum of N4.6 billion was transferred by the then National Security Adviser (NSA) to one Silva McNamara.
In response the witness said,” Yes.”
On how the transfer was done, the witness told the court that it was transferred from the office of the National Security Adviser from its impress account to the Diamond Bank account of Silva McNamara.
Defence counsel then said: “You said payment was made from the NSA to Silva McNamara and that part of the money was meant to be transferred to the first defendant.
“I never said transfer, I said it was meant for the first defendant,” said the witness.
The defence counsel asked if he had investigated why a transfer was not made to the first defendant if actually the funds were meant for him.
The witness replied: “Questions were asked and investigations showed that it was meant to disguise the source of the money; so, it was given by cash to avoid traces.”
On whether he had confirmed if the funds were proceeds of drugs, the witness replied that the money was not proceeds of drugs.
Justice Aneke has adjourned continuation of trial to July 19.