Witness: How three aircraft were used to move N1.2bn to Ekiti for Fayose

Damola Otuyena, head of cash and transit services of Diamond Bank, says N1.2 billion was moved to Ekiti for Ayodele Fayose, ex-governor of the state, using three aircraft.

Otuyena, who is a witness in the ongoing trial of Fayose, told the court that the money was sent to the ex-governor by Musiliu Obanikoro, a former minister of defence.

The witness said this at the Lagos federal high court on Monday after the prosecution opened its case and called witnesses to testify.

Fayose and Spotless Nigeria Limited are accused by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of an alleged N2.2 billion fraud. The funds are said to be have been allocated to him by Sambo Dasuki, former national security adviser (NSA).

The accused were arraigned in October and pleaded “not guilty” to an 11-count charge filed against them by anti-graft agency.

The witness told the court that Gbolahan, son of Obanikoro, facilitated the movement of the cash.

“We then contacted the company that renders the bullion van services to help us move the cash to the airport and it was moved to the private wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport but when we got there, we could not gain access,” he said.

“We waited outside. I called my director, he said we should wait, that someone would come to attend to us. Soon, he called to say someone was there to give us access.

“He spoke to a certain Gbolahan Obanikoro by my phone and told me that that was the person that would help us enter the airport. He did and we were able to move the bullion van into the airport.

“After some time, a person I later identified as Senator Musiliu Obanikoro came and my boss called me and spoke to Obanikoro using my phone and said he was the one to receive the cash and the cash was handed over to him.

“At the point of handover, they told us not to remove all the cash from the bullion van because they needed to load the cash into aircraft. Two or three aircraft were used to move the cash. When the  cash was moved, we left the airport.”

The EFCC listed Obanikoro as one of the 22 witnesses who will testify in the trial.

Mojisola Olatoregun, the judge handling the case, adjourned the matter till January 21 and 28 for the continuation of trial.