A Federal High Court in Abuja has set an accelerated hearing for the money laundering charges filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Gabriel Suswam, former Governor of Benue State, due to the non-appearance of EFCC witnesses.
During today’s proceedings, EFCC counsel Rotimi Jacob, SAN, who was scheduled to conclude his case, notified the court of the prosecution’s absence.
The Honourable Justice Peter Lifu has scheduled the case for expedited hearings on November 6th, 7th, and 8th.
Suswam, formerly governor, and Omodachi Okolobia, former Commissioner of Finance, face 11-count amended charges for money laundering involving N3.1 billion from Benue state’s Dangote Cement PLC shares sold through BIPC, Elixir Securities Limited, and Elixir Investment Partners Limited in 2014
The EFCC’s sixth prosecution witness in the trial of former governor Suswam testified in Federal High Court that in 2014, he converted N3.1 billion, sent by Suswam, into $15.8 million cash and delivered it to Suswam’s residence in Maitama, Abuja.
During the court proceedings, the witness, a bureau de change operator and CEO of Fanffash Resources, who has been providing testimony on the matter since 2018, initially before Justice A.R Mohammed and subsequently before Justice Okon Abang, revealed that Suswam transferred a total of N3.1 billion to him through a proxy in multiple installments, with the first installment of N413 million deposited into his account on August 8, 2014, and the remaining amount following to total N3.1 billion.
While testifying, Umar revealed to prosecutor Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, that the person who transferred naira to him was a female proxy.
The witness testified that he had to convert N3.1 billion to dollars, totaling $15.8 million at the prevailing rate of N197 to a dollar, and hand over the amount to Suswam at his Maitama, Abuja home.
“During my tenure in 2014, I received an invitation from the former governor of Benue State to visit his residence in Maitama, Abuja. Upon arrival, I met him alongside a light-complexioned woman. He requested that I share my account information with her, and I provided my Zenith Bank account details. The woman confirmed that she would deposit funds into the specified account.”
“On August 8, 2014, my account received a transfer of N413 million. The former governor, upon notification, directed me to exchange the funds for US dollars and subsequently requested that I deliver the converted amount to his residence in Maitama, near Juma’at Mosque. After confirming the dollar equivalent, I was instructed to inform the security personnel at the gate of my intended visit. Upon arrival, I was granted access and met with the former governor, confirming the dollar equivalent of N413 million at the prevailing exchange rate of N197. Additionally, I received another transfer of N637 million on September 12, 2014.”
Within a span of four days, October 13 to 17, 2014, my account received N3 billion through transfers of N637 million, N363 million, N630,008.50, and N1,068,000, initiated by the former governor through a designated female associate.
The witness testified that he was not arrested by the EFCC for providing favorable testimony for the defendant, nor was he coerced by the Commission to testify against the defendant. Additionally, he revealed that he lacked receipts for the transactions and no record book existed, explaining that he purchases dollars from fellow retailers and only records transactions at his discretion.
