“I was being investigated over funds disbursed through the ONSA. I was kept in EFCC custody for 21 days. I reluctantly returned the N200 million cash. Some money was seized from an account related to me.”
These are the words of a former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, while testifying in court on Monday over a N1.2b he was said to have collected from the Chief of Security Staff to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Dasuki Sambo, which, he said, he delivered to former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose, for election purpose.
Testifying in Fayose’s trial for money laundering before Justice Mojisola Olatoregun, the former minister, however, said he did not sign for the money he received from Dasuki.
He said, “I did not sign any record at the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) for the money that I collected,” he said.
While being cross-examined by defence lawyer Kanu Agabi (SAN) (for Fayose) and Olalekan Ojo (SAN) (for Fayose’s company and co-accused Spotless Limited), he said he was also under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and that he was eventually made to return N200 million of the money he received from Dasuki.
“I was being investigated over funds disbursed through the ONSA. I was kept in EFCC custody for 21 days. I reluctantly returned the N200 million cash. Some money was seized from an account related to me,” Obanikoro said.
