Alleged 26m fraud: EFCC presents third witness against Fani-Kayode

The trial of a former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode before Justice John Tsoho of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja continued today, Tuesday February 23, 2021 with the testimony of Mohammed Goji, the third prosecution witness, PW3.

While being led in evidence by prosecuting counsel Faruk Abdullahi,  the witness who is an  Operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC narrated how during the course of investigating contracts executed by the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, under Col Sambo Dasuki (retd),  N26m was traced to the defendant.

“We got Intelligence report about some certain amount of money running into billions of naira meant for contracts in the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA. Along the line, we discovered that N26m was paid for Media Consultancy for which there was no record that the project was executed.

“We wrote series of letters to the Office of the NSA where we got payment vouchers and proposals indicating how the said sum was paid.

“In the course of investigation we gathered that the defendant directed his domestic servants comprising of his driver by name, Francis and his personal assistant named Victor, to access the funds from the NSA.

“They took the cash sum in a ‘Ghana –Must- Go’ bag from the account section of the NSA and took it to the defendant’s residence as directed”, Goji said.

The witness also narrated how a search warrant was executed in the residence of the defendant on 10th May 2016 and afterwards invited the defendant to the EFCC office for interview.  He said the defendant volunteered his statements under caution on May 11 and 12, 2016.

Prosecuting counsel Abdullah, after the testimony of the witness, tendered in evidence, documents comprising the search warrant and the three statements which the defendant made while in EFCC custody.

Justice Tsoho adjourned the case till April 21, 2020 for continuation of trial.