Court told how Olugbenga Obadina received $2.1 billion from Dasuki without performing a contract

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness, Bello Umar, has revealed how Olugbenga Obadina received $2.1 billion from the office of former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd), without executing a contract.

Umar, the first prosecution witness (PW-1), made this known before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja while being led in evidence by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) lawyer, Ibrahim Buba.

Obadina is the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Almond Projects Limited.

The trial is part of the ongoing case over the alleged misappropriation of $33.2 billion meant for arms purchases by Dasuki, who was the then NSA during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The money would be part of the funds allocated by the federal government to fight the Boko Haram insurgency in the north-east.

The witness, an investigator from the anti-corruption agency, said he knew Obadina and his company, listed as 1st and 2nd defendants in the indictment marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/142/2016.

He told the court his schedule of duties included carrying out investigations and doing financial analysis where there was a need.

Umar said he became aware of Obadina through a complaint filed by the NSA office “that there was an execution of the contract which he did not execute after receiving the full amount.”

The investigator said that after the complaint, a letter was written to the NSA office to provide the team with Obadina’s payment schedule.

“We have also written letters to various banks to provide us with bank statements.

“We have contacted the office of the National Security Advisor to verify the conclusion or execution of these projects.

“They told us they had no contract with the defendants.

“The total amount of money is 2.1 billion naira,” PW-1 said.

The witness said that Obadina was invited by the investigation team but that all the explanations he gave did not hold up.

He (Obadina) according to him could not show any tangible blueprint of the executed contract because the contract does not exist.

He said his team was able to confirm that Obadina was the owner of the company, allegedly used to siphon the funds, through an investigative letter written to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

When the EFCC lawyer asked Umar how the money was paid to Obadina, the witness said: “It was paid in six tranches.”

He said some of the money was paid into the Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB) account, while some was paid into the Zenith Bank account.

According to PW-1 the bank accounts bear the name of the accused and his company.

Umar said Obadina’s statement was taken in the presence of his lawyer, called Dr Nasiru.

The witness identified all documents requested as exhibits from Buba, including the letters from the NSA office, the extrajudicial statement, the GTB and Zenith bank statements, and the CAC document.

Buba then attempted to present the six documents identified by Umar.

Obadina’s lawyer, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, challenged the admissibility of some documents on the grounds that they had not been certified by the institution in custody (CBN), citing Section 102 of the Evidence Act and other relevant laws, including an earlier case, to support his argument.

Adedipe said: “I will not object to the CAC documents, the GTB and the Zenith Bank statements.”

He, however, objected to the admissibility of the letter from the NSA office, dated May 5, 2016.

The senior lawyer also challenged the admissibility of the extrajudicial statement written by Obadina, arguing that the statement was not made voluntarily.

Adedipe told the court that Obadina was in EFCC custody for about 40 days before the statement was made.

“In fact, the accused has to approach a court for his fundamental rights and there is a ruling to that effect,” he added.

He argued that Obadina’s extrajudicial statement was obtained in violation of sections 28 and 29 of the Evidence Act and section 17(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, among others.

“There was no video recording and no presence of a lawyer,” he argued, urging the court to reject the documents.

Buba did not agree with Adedipe.

He argued that the NSA letter, titled: “Re-investigation activity”, dated May 5, 2016, was very relevant to the proceedings contrary to what the defense claimed.

“The documents are attached to the main document which is a letter from the NSA office.

“The documents themselves came from the NSA office at the CBN and the originals were received by the CBN and acknowledged in a separate copy.

“These documents are in the NSA office and it is the NSA that is competent to certify them. We urge My Lord to reject the argument,” he said.

On Obadina’s statement, Buba said the witness never told the court that the statement, in question, was a confessional statement requiring video evidence, citing Section 15(2).

According to the lawyer, the witness said that the statement was recorded in the presence of his lawyer.

However, he said, if the defense insists that the statement was not voluntary, the prosecution will request a trial within a trial to establish its voluntariness.

Justice Omotosho, therefore, admitted the GTB and Zenith Bank documents, the CAC document and a letter from the NSA office as exhibits PWA, PWB, PWC and PWD respectively.

The judge, however, adjourned until December 2 to rule on a letter dated May 5, 2016.

Obadina was arraigned again on January 13, 2024 by the anti-corruption agency on eight charges bordering on money laundering amounting to N2.17 billion.

He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge and was admitted to a $500 million bond with two sureties in the same amount.

In court three of the charges, Obadina and Almond Projects Ltd allegedly, on April 3, 2014, directly took possession of N648 million which was paid into the account of Almond Projects Ltd under Zenith Bank Plc account no: 1010921116.

The money would be paid by the CBN into the account of the NSA office without award of the contract.

The agency said the fund was part of the proceeds of Colonel Dasuki’s illegal activity and that the offense is contrary to section 15(2), (d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, as amended in 2012, and is punishable under section 15(3) of the same Act.

Obadina was previously arraigned before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba in 2016.

Justice Dimgba had, on July 4, 2024, adjourned for the adoption of final written arguments after the EFCC closed the case after calling four witnesses and the defendants called two witnesses before it was elevated to the Court of Appeal.