A cashier at the Nigerian Air Force
headquarters, Emmanuel Abu, on Wednesday narrated to a Federal High
Court in Abuja, the role he played in the alleged monthly diversion of
N558.2m from the Nigerian Air Force accounts by an ex-Chief of Air
Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (retd.).
Abu, who was testifying as the second
prosecution witness in Badeh’s ongoing trial, said he routinely
converted the N558.2m to dollars which the prosecution alleged was being
handed over to the former Air Force chief monthly.
The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission is prosecuting Badeh alongside a firm, Iyalikam Nigeria
Limited, on 10 counts of money laundering bordering on alleged
fraudulent removal of about N3.97bn from the Nigerian Air Force’s
account.
The anti-graft agency accused Badeh of
using the fund to buy and develop landed assets in Abuja for himself and
two of his sons between January and December 2013.
Abu stepped into the witness box after
the first prosecution witness, a former Director of Finance and Account
of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Aliyu Yishau (retd.), completed
his testimony on Wednesday.
Abu, who was led in evidence by the lead
prosecuting counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), on Wednesday said he
converted N558.2m monthly removed from NAF’s Personnel and Emolument
account for 14 months between November 2012 and December 2013.
He said within the 14 months period, a total of over N7.8bn was set aside and converted to dollars.
Abu explained that he and the Financial
Officer at the headquarters of the Nigerian Air Force Camp, Mogadishu
Cantonment, Asokoro, Abuja, Group Captain Mohammed Lawal Sini, (now Air
Commodore), were the only signatories to the six accounts operated by
NAF.
He said Sini gave him the instruction
for the monthly setting aside of the N558.2m immediately he (Sini)
became the Finance Officer in November 2014, about a month after Badeh
assumed the office of the Chief of Air Staff.
He explained that the N558.2m was a
monthly leftover in the Personnel and Emolument account of the NAF after
the payment of members of staff salaries and entitlements for a
particular month.
He said after the payment of the staff
salaries the leftover was usually transferred to the other five accounts
of the Nigerian Air Force to augment NAF’s overheads and expenditures.
But he said no voucher was ever raised
for its disbursement as it was done for other disbursement from other
accounts of the NAF.
He said, “The left over in the personnel
and emolument account are transferred to five other accounts after
paying salaries, because the balance of the salaries are meant for other
purposes, and the personnel and emolument account is just for payment
of salaries.
“After distributing the money into five
accounts, the funds are used to augment the NAF overheads expenditure.
We use them to pay estacode, non-regular allowances, training and
operations, also purchase of aviation fuel.
“For the expenditure for the fund, we
receive approvals from the headquarters of NAF, usually approved by the
Chief of Air Staff, however, in November 2012, when the new Camp Finance
Officer resumed, he informed me verbally that there was a standing
instruction for the sum of N558,200,000 to be set aside monthly for
headquarters, NAF training and operational purposes.
“He also informed me that the amount is to be converted to US dollars, except there is any other instruction to the contrary.
“I complied with the instruction and I
converted the amount monthly, from November 2012 to December 2013,
within the 14 months, a total of N7.8b plus was set aside, out of this,
within the 14 months, I received, instruction to transfer a total sum of
N410m to HAFCO Nigeria Limited and N875m plus to Right Builders
Technologies.
Under cross-examination by Badeh’s
lawyer, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), Abu confirmed that he never received
any instruction relating to the setting aside of the N558.2m and its
conversion to dollars.
He also said he had no official record of the dollar equivalent of the N558.2m.
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