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The Federal Excessive Courtroom sitting in Abuja has once more adjourned the trial of former Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam alongside his former Commissioner of Finance, Omadachi Okolobia.
Justice A.R Mohammed on Wednesday adjourned Suswam’s trial to June 8, 2023 in order to allow the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC) tender a contemporary Exhibit P6 earlier than the court docket.
Exhibit p6 was earlier tendered earlier than the court docket, however on account of the motion of the case from Justice Mohammed to Justice Okon Abang of the identical jurisdiction, some parts of the paperwork from pages 41-98 bought lacking from the information of the court docket.
Nonetheless, prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacob (SAN)’s file is undamaged and prayed the court docket to permit him to make use of the copy to proceed with the trial however defence counsel, J.B Daudu (SAN) and Paul Erokoro (SAN) objected, insisting that the prosecution proceed with the case or tender the remaining paperwork as new displays.
In addition they proposed that the case be adjourned for the prosecution to as soon as once more current the lacking paperwork.
After listening to their submissions, Justice Mohammed adjourned the matter to June 8, 2023, for the continuation of trial.
Earlier, the prosecution known as its Prosecuting Witness 6, PW6, an Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE1 Mustapha Yusuf Ibrahim to testify earlier than the court docket.
Ibrahim advised the court docket that in investigations, his workforce wrote letters to the United Financial institution for Africa (UBA) and Warranty Belief Financial institution (GTB) requesting for the assertion of accounts of the primary defendant.
“The UBA account is the primary defendant’s wage account, my Lord and the GTB is his private financial savings account in naira and greenback. After receiving the statements of the account, we analysed it accordingly,” Ibrahim mentioned.
“Within the evaluation of the UBA account which is the primary defendant’s wage account, we found that the final wage he acquired was N443,000 (4-Hundred and Forty-Three Thousand Naira) and that was in February 2013.”
Requested whether or not Suswam acquired any wage earlier than receiving February 2013 wages, Ibrahim mentioned all different salaries have been drawn in 2012 and the explanation was that the state had no cash to pay salaries at the moment.
The witness additional advised the court docket that after they acquired the financial institution assertion of Elexia Securities, they found a sure fee for the sale of shares belonging to the Benue State authorities was made into the account of Benue State’s Ministry of Finance.
“My Lord, between September, 12, 2014 and October 22, 2014, the whole sum of N5.3 billion in 4 tranches was made to the Benue State Ministry of Finance’s Zenith Checking account from the sale of shares by Elexia Securities, my Lord”, he mentioned.
Suswam and Okolobia are dealing with trial amended 11-count prices bordering on cash laundering to the tune of N3.1 billion naira.
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