Abuja: A witness from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) testified on Tuesday that former National Security Adviser Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) had duly signed the payment mandate linked to the alleged ₦33.2 billion fraud case, directly tying him to the controversial transactions under scrutiny.
Dasuki, a former National Security Adviser (NSA), is facing trial on an amended 32-count charge related to the criminal breach of trust and dishonestly receiving 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 March 25 in a case that started in 2015.
They 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 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Dasuki and his co-defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
At the resumed hearing of the case, PW1, Adariku Michael, a detective with the EFCC, informed the court that his team wrote a letter to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) requesting the registration status of various companies and individuals.
He was called as a witness by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN. According to him, CAC responded, and the responses were admitted into evidence by the court, as the defendants did not object.
He said that the analysis of the responses revealed that the 2nd defendant (Baba-Kusa) owned the two companies mentioned.
” We discovered that Acacia Holdings (3rd defendant) and Arabcaria Farms Ltd are sister companies owned by the 2nd defendant.
“Regarding Medical Ltd and Reliance Referral Hospital, the 2nd defendant’s wife is a major shareholder. Reliance Referral Hospital also belongs to the 2nd defendant,” he told the court.
The witness told the court that Zenith Bank received payment mandate instructions from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
” Instructions directing the bank to debit the operation account of ONSA with the sum of N600 million, N750 million and crediting the same to Acacia Holdings Limited’s United Bank for Africa (UBA) account.
“Others are the Ecobank account and the Reliance Referral Hospital’s account in First Bank.
” The payment mandate was duly signed by the first defendant (Dasuki), He told the court.
He added that an analysis of Acacia Holdings’ account records in UBA revealed that another N200 million was transferred from ONSA to that account.
The defendants’ counsel, A A Usman for Dasuki, Solomon Umoh, SAN for Baba-Kusa and Acacia Holdings Limited and A O Ayodele for Reliance Referral Hospital Limited, reserved their objections.
Justice Charles Agbaza adjourned the case until January 13, 2026, for the continuation of the hearing.