EFCC witness: I handed over $15.8m to Suswam at his Maitama residence

Abubakar Umar, a witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has told a federal high court in Abuja how he allegedly handed over $15.8 million to Gabriel Suswam, former Benue state governor.

Umar, who is a bureau de change operator and owner of Fanffash Resources, has been in the witness box since 2016.

In 2017, he was declared a hostile witness after giving conflicting testimony based on what he had earlier told the EFCC.

In his written statement before the EFCC, Umar said he took the money to the governor at his residence in Maitama, Abuja.

But giving evidence before the court, he said he took the money to the government house in Benue state.

However, at the court session on Wednesday, the witness reaffirmed his earlier statement to the EFCC.

Led in evidence by Rotimi Jacobs, EFCC’s counsel, he alleged that he was being threatened by associates of the former governor who asked him to change his statement.

“I changed my statement because of the pressure I received from Suswam’s people,” he said.

When asked by prosecution counsel what the alleged Suswam’s allies wanted him to change, he told the court that they wanted him to change where and whom he gave the dollar equivalent of N3.1 billion.

He also insisted that his company, Fanffash Resources, has no relationship with the Benue state government and that he also has no business or contract with Elixir Investment Partners Limited.

“I don’t know Elixir but sometime in August 2014, Suswam called me to his house in Maitama and introduced me to a lady and asked me to give her my account details,” Umar said.

“Suswam said when I see the money, I should give him the dollar equivalent which I did, amounting to $15.8 million, while using N197 as the exchange rate.

“I handed over the dollars in cash to Suswam at his residence in Abuja.”

The matter has been adjourned till May 25 for continuation of trial.

Suswam and Omadachi Okolobia, a former finance commissioner in the state, are standing trial on 11 counts over money laundering allegations.

The duo are accused of diverting N3.1 billion from the coffers of the state.

They were first arraigned before Ahmed Mohammed, a judge of the federal high court, in 2015.

However, Mohammed recused himself from the case following the allegation that he was bribed by the defendants to make a favourable judgement.

Thereafter, the judge returned the case file to Adamu Kafarati, chief judge of the federal high court, at the time.

Kafarati assigned the case to Okon Abang, another judge, but the court of appeal in February 2020, ordered that the case be returned to Mohammed.