Abubakar Umar, a witness of the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC), says he gave Gabriel Suswam, a former governor of
Benue, the sum of $15.8 million cash – equivalent of N3.1 billion – at his
residence in Abuja in 2014. In 2020, Suswam and Omadachi Okolobia, a former finance
commissioner in Benue, were re-arraigned on an 11-count charge bordering on
money laundering. They were both accused of diverting N3.1 billion from the
state coffers. They were first arraigned before Ahmed Mohammed, a judge of
the federal high court, in 2015. During Friday’s proceedings, Umar, a bureau de change
operator, told the court how he received money from Suswam through proxies on
numerous occasions in tranches. “One day in 2014, when I was in the office, the former
governor of Benue State asked me to meet him in his house in Maitama, Abuja. I
went and met him in the house together with one fair woman,” he said. “He asked me to give the woman my account number. I gave the
woman my Zenith Bank account number. The woman said she’ll send money into that
account. “On the 8th of August
2014, N413 million was transferred to my account. Based on this, I called the
former governor and he told me to change the money to dollars and I asked him
to give me time to do that. “Three days after I bought the dollar equivalent, I called
the former governor and informed him that the money was ready. He now asked me
to take the money to his house in Maitama, near Jumat Mosque. I now told him
that he should inform the security at the gate that I was coming, if not
they’ll not allow me access into the gate. “I took a cab to the house, and after I arrived at the
house, I knocked at the gate and they opened. I told them my name. They opened
the first and second gates and I sat in the waiting room where he came and met
me. “I now brought out the money which we both confirmed to be
the equivalent of the N413 million. “The total money
transferred to my account was N3 billion.” After hearing the testimony of the witness, Peter Lifu, the
judge presiding over the case, adjourned the matter till October 4, 2024, for
continuation of trial.
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