It Took Us 10 Days To Count N1.22bn Obanikoro Gave Fayose – Banker
BEVERLY HILLS, November 15,(THEWILL) – An staff of Zenith Bank, Akure Branch in Ondo State, Mr. Sunday Alade, has told an Abuja Federal High Court how he and his colleagues in the bank took turns to count the N1.22bn cash delivered to the aides of the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, by former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro in 2014.
Continuing his testimony on Monday as the first prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Fayose’s aide, Mr. Abiodun Agbele, on money laundering charges, the banker stated that the huge cash was in N1000 and N500 notes.
Alade said, while under cross-examination by the defence counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome SAN, that his team evacuated the huge cash, allegedly airlifted to Akure airport twice by Obanikoro, before they started the counting.
Disclosing that he “got worried” when he saw the large consignment of cash, the banker stated that the counting went on between 8am and 3pm for 10 days.
“It took us 10 whole days to count the money after we brought it from the Akure Airport. It took us from 8am to 3pm daily to count the money. Some time, the officials counting it would take time off,” the witness said, adding that the total amount was N1,219,490,000.
Agbele is being prosecuted alongside three companies – Sylvan Mcnamara Ltd., De Privateer and Spotless – on 11 counts of money laundering involving about N4,685,723,000,000 allegedly taken by former National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) from the account of the office of the NSA domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
The prosecution alleged that the accused persons knew the N4,685,723,000,000 formed part of the proceeds of alleged unlawful activities by Dasuki.
The prosecution also alleged. that on June 17, 2014, Agbele, Obanikoro and other suspects (said to be at large), took N1,219,000,000 from the total N4,685,723,000,000, when they “reasonably ought to have known” that the money was part of proceeds of Dasuki's unlawful activity.”