N4.6 billion in ONSA funds are distributed to plan prayers against insecurity– EFCC witness
A Federal Capital Territory High Court was informed by Kazeem Yusuf, an employee of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, that N4.6 billion had allegedly been misappropriated to arrange prayers for Nigeria.
Speaking on Tuesday, Yusuf was the second prosecution witness in Bashir Yuguda's trial as a former minister of state for finance.
Attahiru Bafarawa, the former governor of Sokoto State, his son Sagir, former National Security Advisor Sambo Dasuki, and Bafarawa's company, Dalhatu Investment Limited, are all defendants in Yuguda's case.
Twenty-five counts of misappropriation, criminal breach of trust, and receiving stolen property are being brought against the defendants.
In 2016, Dasuki filed a fresh application for discharge from the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama for the alleged crime of diversion of funds meant for the procurement of arms. The EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, led an investigation into Dalhatu Investment Limited, one of the 78 companies alleged to have received money from ONSA without any documents to show that they bid for contracts. An analysis of the statement of account of Dalhatu Investment Limited by EFCC from UBA revealed that the company got N4.6 billion from ONSA, with N783m coming from the SAS account.
The witness, who represented the company, told the EFCC that the money was meant for prayers for the country due to the insecurity prevalent at that time. He also provided a breakdown of how the N4.6bn was spent, including a list of beneficiaries. Abdallah Wali, a former senator, received N580m from the company, while Muazu Madawaki, former Secretary of the Pilgrims and Welfare Agency in Sokoto, received N322m. Other beneficiaries listed include Ibrahim Maigoma, former Sokoto chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Yahaya Dada, Sani Kabir, and INEC N293,500,000.
Parts of the money meant for supplies of security equipment were used to procure a Lexus car, a Hilux van, and 16 Peugeot 206 cars, which were distributed to PDP local government chairmen in Sokoto. Amanze Obi received N15.3 million for political publicity for Bafawara’s 2015 presidential campaign. About £123,000 was transferred to a bank in the United Kingdom to offset a mortgage for Bafarawa, while N1billion went to Bureau de Change to convert to dollars.
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