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Wueng Agati, a prosecution witness, has told Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, how N1.2 billion was credited into two accounts allegedly connected to former governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako, who is currently facing trial for N29 billion fraud.
Agati, an employee of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), while being led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Rotimi Jacobs SAN, gave the name of the accounts as Blue Ribbon and Babangida Inuwa.
Nyako is being prosecuted along his son, Abdul-Aziz Nyako a serving senator, Abubakar Aliyu and Zulkifikk Abba on a 37-count charge bordering on criminal conspiracy, stealing, abuse of office and money laundering.
Five companies that allegedly served as conduit pipes for the illegal diversion of the funds-Blue Opal Limited, Sebore Farms & Extension Limited, Pagoda Fortunes Limited, Tower Assets Management Limited and Crust Energy Limited, were equally charged before the court as the 5th to 9th accused persons respectively.
Agati told the court at the resumption of trial, how the EFCC wrote his bank in 2014, requesting for the account opening document, certificate of identification and statement of account of several accounts which included Blue Ribbon and Babangida Inuwa.
The account opening, statement of accounts and certificate of identification for Babangida Inuwa, Dantshoho Hotel Limited, Alkali Mahmoud, Mainstream Energy Limited, Blue Ribbon MultiLinks Limited and Tower Asset Management Limited were presented and admitted in evidence as Exhibits AC1 – Exhibit AC6.
The PW8 went on by giving a breakdown of how the over N1billion was credited into the accounts of Blue Ribbon and Babangida Inuwa.
“Blue Ribbon account was first credited with N10million by CIFT FSDH; On December 17, 2012, N20million was paid into the same account by same CIFT FSDH; On December 28 2012, N40million was credited to Blue Ribbon by CIFT/FSDH; The account also got credited with N50million each on February 19, 2013, and March 12, 2013 by CIFT/FSDH.
“On April 17, 2013 N14million was paid into the account (Blue Ribbon) in four tranches. The first tranche of N1million was marked cash deposit by (Blue Opal) by Jelilat Ibrahim. The second lodgment was also N1million, which was marked cash deposit (Blue Opal Nigeria Limited). The third lodgment was N10million and marked customer deposit cheque (Tower Asset Managing Limited/Blue Ribbon Multi links Limited), while the fourth lodgment of N2million was marked customer deposit cheque (Tower Asset management Limited/Blue Ribbson Muiltilinks Limited”, Agati stated.
When asked to take a look at Exhibit AC1 and tell the court the transfer that was done from the account, Agati said, “On November 12, 2013, a sum of N1,015,740,000 (One billion, Fifteen Million, Seven Hundred and Forty Thousand Naira) was transferred from the account (Babangida Inuwa) to another bank.”
At this instance, the trial judge, Justice Abang, adjourned to Wednesday, May 3, 2017 for further hearing.
