How ex-PDP chair Bello received N300m from ONSA by proxy – Witness

How ex-PDP chair Bello received N300m from ONSA by proxy – Witness 

Aliyu Mohammed Mukddas, a Senior Manager with the Central Bank of
Nigeria, CBN, who is also a witness in the trial a former National
Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Haliru Bello, on
Wednesday, told Justice A. R. Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja
how Bam Projects and Properties, a company owned by former PDP chair,
was paid N300 million by the Office of the National Security Adviser,
ONSA.

Bello and his son are on trial alongside their Company, Bam
Project and Properties Limited, on a four-count charge of money
laundering preferred against them by the EFCC.

They were alleged
to have collected N300 million from the Office of the National Security
Adviser, ONSA, being part of the funds meant to fight insurgency in the
North-East of the country.

Testifying as PW6, Mukddas, who was led
in evidence by counsel to the EFCC, O. A. Atolagbe, told the court that
the narration on the payment mandate showed that the payment was given
as “Safe Houses” which the amount was for N300million. Although, when
asked by the prosecuting counsel if it is the duty of CBN to know if the
contract was executed, the witness replied in the negative.

The
witness, who was manager, between 2010 and 2015, gave details on
procedures for payment to Ministries, Department and Agencies.

According
to him, agencies would bring their payment schedule showing the date,
name of the organization, amount in words/figure and details of
beneficiaries. He added that the schedule must be duly signed by
signatories of that organisation after which it would be brought by the
confirmation officer.

“The confirmation would be done before us with his name, signature, date and thumb print”, he said.
The
PW6 further stated that, “when the payment schedule is received, the
CBN passes it for verification of signatories and also check account
balance before it is passed for payment”.

When asked if he knows
of an ONSA account, he told the court that, “it is an account managed by
CBN and it is funded by Office of Accountant General of the
Federation”.

According to him, “the account has two source of
funding, sometime from office of the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation (SGF) and mostly from the Accountant General of the
Federation”.

Mukddas told the court that, “between 2012 and 2015,
the main signatory to the account was Sambo Dasuki and also another
signatory was the then Director Finance and Account S. A. Salisu, while
the confirmation officer was Yazeed Ibrahim”.

The witness was
shown Exhibit PL 5, which is one of the payment mandate paid and asked
to explain the procedures followed in making payment to which he said,
“the mandate in PL5 was brought from ONSA by Yazeed Ibrahim and he
confirmed the mandate to us”.

He added that all due process was followed.
Asked
by Atolagbe what he meant by all due process was followed; the witness
replied that, “that means all signatories have signed, thumb printed,
amount given in words and figures and that the confirmation officer have
confirmed same”.

Justice Mohammed, thereafter, adjourned to July 5, 2017 for further trial.

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