An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operative has instructed the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja how the company arrested two males accused of posing as officials of the fee to acquire $700,000 from former Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) managing director, Mohammed Bello-Koko.
According to an announcement shared by the EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale on Wednesday, Tanko Abubakar, the second prosecution witness, testified within the trial of Ojobo Joshua and Aliyu Hashim.
The EFCC alleges that the defendants instructed Mr Bello-Koko that his tenure as NPA managing director was underneath investigation and demanded $1 million to cease the probe.
They allegedly claimed the cash was required by EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede and the fee’s director of operations. The quantity was ultimately diminished to $700,000, in line with the prosecution.
The defendants were arraigned on 13 November 2024 and pleaded not responsible, in line with TransparencIT, a platform that tracks corruption circumstances in Nigeria. They face amended 4 costs of impersonation, conspiracy and acquiring cash by false pretence.
The defendants allegedly threatened Mr Bello-Koko with arrest and prosecution if he refused to cooperate, whereas claiming they may safe a “soft landing” for him by way of Mr Olukoyede.
Mr Abubakar instructed the courtroom that he turned concerned within the investigation in 2024 after the EFCC’s Abuja zonal director acquired intelligence that the defendants had been trying to defraud the previous NPA managing director.
“The Abuja zonal director informed me that there is an intelligence that the first and second defendants were attempting to defraud the former MD, NPA, Muhammad Bello-Koko in the sum of $1,000,000 and one of the suspects claiming to be a personal assistant to the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede,” he mentioned.
The witness, who’s hooked up to the fee’s Land and Property Section in Ibadan, Oyo State, acknowledged that Mr Bello-Koko instructed him that Mr Hashim had claimed to know the individual posing because the EFCC chairman’s aide.
Mr Bello-Koko subsequently launched him to Mr Hashim, whom he contacted in August 2024 to debate the matter.
Mr Abubakar mentioned Mr Hashim invited him to Crystal Palace Hotel on Gimbiya Street, Area 11, Abuja, the place he was instructed they might meet Mr Joshua. They later met on the Legislative Quarters in Apo, the place Mr Joshua arrived in two autos.
According to the witness, Mr Joshua requested whether or not Mr Hashim had instructed him how a lot was wanted to finish the purported investigation.
“The first defendant told me and Koko to bring $1,000,000. I pleaded with him that we cannot raise such an amount,” Mr Abubakar instructed the courtroom.
He mentioned he supplied $300,000, however Mr Joshua rejected it. A subsequent provide of $500,000 was additionally turned down earlier than Mr Hashim persuaded Mr Joshua to just accept $700,000, the witness mentioned.
Mr Abubakar mentioned he reported the settlement to his zonal director, who assembled an investigative workforce comprising him, Hakeem Lasisi, Abdulhamid Wodi and Olalekan Ogunjobi.
On 28 August 2024, he knowledgeable the defendants that he had returned from Kaduna with the cash and was heading to the EFCC headquarters to ship it. Mr Joshua as a substitute directed him to satisfy at an A.A. Rano filling station alongside Lugbe Road, Abuja.
The witness acknowledged that Mr Joshua arrived in a Hilux and one other SUV, with three armed cell cops within the Hilux. Mr Hashim additionally arrived, however the EFCC workforce couldn’t make an arrest as a result of its operatives on the scene had been unarmed, he mentioned.
Mr Abubakar mentioned he contacted his workplace, which mobilised armed personnel for one more try.
He later instructed Mr Hashim that the cash was prepared and was directed to satisfy him at Crystal Palace Hotel. After Mr Joshua didn’t reply his calls, the witness despatched him a textual content message confirming that the cash was obtainable. Mr Joshua subsequently known as and directed him to satisfy Mr Hashim.
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Mr Abubakar mentioned he drove to Gimbiya Street and confirmed Mr Hashim the bag containing the cash. EFCC operatives then moved in and arrested him.
He famous that Mr Hashim initially denied understanding Mr Joshua’s residence however later led the operatives there after Mr Joshua requested a video name to substantiate that the cash was prepared.
According to the witness, Mr Joshua’s spouse allowed the operatives into the home, the place they discovered him inside his retailer and arrested him. Both males had been taken to the EFCC headquarters.
Prosecution lawyer Elizabeth Alabi instructed the courtroom that Hakeem Lasisi, the witness initially scheduled to testify, was unavailable as a result of he was on an official project exterior the nation. The courtroom allowed Mr Abubakar to testify in his place.
The trial decide Jude Onwuegbuzie adjourned the case till Thursday (right this moment), for continuation of the trial.
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