Witness: Saraki lied he bought a house from proceeds of rice but he actually obtained a loan

Michael Wetkas, a detective of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Monday, said Senate President Bukola Saraki borrowed money to buy a piece of property in Lagos, but that he claimed the money was from the sale of rice and sugar.

Wetkas, while being cross-examined on counts two and three of the 16-count charge of false asset declaration against the senate president at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), said the defendant borrowed the money from Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB).

Paul Usoro,  Saraki’s lawyer, examined him.

Acknowledging the charge which read in part: “You (Saraki) falsely declared a property at 17 A and B Ikoyi, Lagos, which you said you bought from the proceeds of rice and sugar whereas it was a loan from Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB),” Wetkas insisted that it was‎ valid.

The EFCC detective said Saraki bought the property in 2006 from a loan of N400m from GTB, but that he allegedly did not declare it in 2011 at the end of his eighth term as governor of Kwara state.

However, Wetkas admitted that Saraki declared the property  in 2007 at the end of his first term as governor.

He could not say if Saraki paid back a loan he got from GTB from Kwara state funds.

Cross-examining Wetkas on ‎count three, on the same subject , which has to do with abuse of office and corruption, Usoro asked the witness if he investigated the accounts of the Kwara state government under Saraki, but he said he didn’t.

Usoro: Did you‎ at any time see the account of the Kwara state government?

Wetkas: I was not the one investigating Kwara state government.

Usoro: Do you have evidence that the money that was used to refund the loan came from Kwara state government‎?

Wetkas: I can’t give a direct answer to this.

However, the EFCC detective admitted that the property Saraki bought in Ikoyi – through‎ the federal implementation committee – followed due process.

‎Saraki had made several attempts to halt his trial at the CCT, but he failed at every turn.

He maintains that his trial is politically motivated.