Middlemen take advantage as several factors limit palm oil production in Akwa IbomSCORECARD: Under Tinubu, Nigeria’s education sector yet to see renewed hopeEditorialTinubu and efforts at addressing insecurity, By Kabir Fagge AliSPECIAL REPORT: Katsina farmers lament impact of climate changeSPECIAL REPORT: Insecurity, other factors limit cashew farming in NigeriaINVESTIGATION: Inside illegal operations of mining firm responsible for Ibadan fatal explosionTinubu and efforts at addressing...
Hayatu Hassan, a Bureau De Change operator who testified as the fourth prosecution witness, told the court of how his company received funds allegedly sourced from the Anambra State Government’s security vote account. He said he helped to change the money denominated in naira to dollars.of diversion of over N4 billion from the state’s account dedicated to security funds in his last five years in office.
The former governor allegedly stole the money over five years by instructing his Chief Protocol Officer/Deputy Chief of Staff, Uzuegbuna Okagbue, to transfer various sums of money from the state on various occasions. According to the witness, the signatories to the security vote accounts were the Principal Secretary to then-Governor Obiano, Willy Nwokoye, and then Accountant at the state Government House in Awka, the state capital, Theophilus Nweze.“I gave them feedback on those transactions,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the witness as telling the court on Wednesday.
Defence lawyer Onyechi Ikpeazu, also a SAN, said he would raise his objections against the admissibility of the documents at the end of the trial in compliance with the procedure adopted by the judge.Under cross-examination by the defence, the witness admitted that the state government was neither part of any of the six accounts nor did it open them.Fielding further questions, he said the six accounts were used for discreet security transactions.
He said the army, navy, civil defence personnel, and the state director of the State Security Service were usually at such meetings. “Not even a kobo because the transactions done for the week would be reconciled with the Principal Secretary,” he said.Mr Hadejia, the BDC operator who testified as the fourth prosecution witness, told the court he operated five Bureau de Change companies, namely Seltris BDC Limited, Seltris Limited, Commaught International Services Limited, Holdall Limited, and Norricelea Limited.
Business Business Latest News, Business Business Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: TheNationNews - 🏆 6. / 69 Read more »