Abuja: The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday tendered more evidence in the trial of retired Col. Sambo Dasuki and three others before an Abuja High Court.
Dasuki, a former National Security Adviser (NSA), is charged with an amended 32-count charge, involving criminal breach of trust, dishonestly receiving and releasing various sums of money totalling N33.2 billion.
He was accused of misappropriating security funds from the accounts of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), alongside Aminu Baba-Kusa, a former General Manager of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The other two firms are Acacia Holdings Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited.
The EFCC arraigned the four defendants afresh on Mar. 25 in a case that began in 2015.
The anti-graft agency accused Dasuki, among others, of releasing the equivalent of N10billion in foreign currencies from the NSA’s account.
The account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the 2014 presidential primary election of the then ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Dasuki and his co-defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges, marked as FCT/HC/CR/43/2015.
At the resumed hearing of the case, PW1, Adariku Michael, a detective with the EFCC, informed the court that the commission received an intelligence report on Sept. 21, 2015, concerning abuse of office and money laundering.
He was called as a witness by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN.
He alleged that the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) transferred huge sums of money between October 2014 and April 2015 to the accounts of various companies.
The witness said the report was assigned to a special task force headed by ACE Halimah Kazeem.
The witness stated that upon receiving the report, the special task force immediately took action and wrote a letter to the CBN.
He narrated how money from the ONSA account at the CBN was transferred to various individuals and companies and deposited into their respective bank accounts.
Responses from requests sent to CBN and other banks were tendered in evidence and marked as exhibits.
The defendants’ counsel, A A Usman for Dasuki, Solomon Umoh, SAN for Baba-Kusa, Acacia Holdings Limited and A O Ayodele for Reliance Referral Hospital Limited, reserved their objections.
The parties, as suggested by Umoh, agreed to be shown the documents before the proceedings, so that the trial can go smoothly.
Justice Charles Agbaza then adjourned the case until November 11 for the continuation of the hearing.
