A former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, has told the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission that he gave the sum of $5.37 million (N2.23 billion) he collected from former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki to the Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, in the run-up to the Ekiti State governorship election in 2014.
Obanikoro has been in EFCC custody since on Monday for his alleged role in the misappropriation of $2.1 billion arms procurement fund.
The Nation reports Obanikoro told his interrogators that the money was transferred to Fayose on the instruction of the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki, (retd.).
Obanikoro was also said to have told the EFCC operatives that Agbele received the money in the presence of the ex-minister’s Aide De Camp, one Lt. Adewale, and officials of Diamond Bank at the Lagos airport.
According to him, he handed Fayose $5,377,000 in cash and N1.3billion was received by the governor’s associate, Abiodun Agbele.
During their interrogation, EFCC officials confronted Obanikoro with a petition from the Office of the National Security Adviser titled “Payment to companies with no contract awards or approval” and dated November 28th 2015. Obanikoro said having gone through the petition, he discovered that Sylva Mcnamara was No. 78 on the list of firms being investigated, having “collected the aggregate sum of N4,685,000,000 between April 4, 2014 and November 13, 2014.
- N N759, 384, 300 changed into dollars through Bureau de change;
- N160million used to purchase cars through Balmoral International Limited;
- N1, 219, 490,000 ferried by Obanikoro in two flights to Akure and received by Fayose’s associate, Abiodun; and
- balance of about N2billion withdrawn by Obanikoro and his two children in cash.
Join our twitter community :