Alleged $40m contract: ‘Jonathan’s cousin didn’t receive N650m for Safe House’

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has made some clarifications over allegation that former President Goodluck Jonathan’s cousin, Azibaola Robert, and his wife, Stella, collected money paid for a Safe House by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) headed by the former National Security Adviser (NSA) Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd).

At the resumed hearing of the matter on Friday, an EFCC operative and the 10th prosecution witness, David Mkpe, told Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court Abuja that Robert, his wife and firm, Oneplus Holdings did not collect any money for the Safe House.

Speaking under cross-examination by the defence lawyer, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), Mkom said, “The petition we received from the Presidential Investigative Committee on Arms Procurement (PICAP) was to specifically investigate the N650m paid into the account of Tunji Adeniyi & Co by ONSA.

“We investigated the complaint (from PICAP) and found out that no farthing of the N650 million paid for the safe house was found in any of the accounts of the defendants (Robert, his wife Stella, and Oneplus Holdings Limited). Tunji Adeniyi had testified before this court that he had refunded the said N650 million to the ONSA and also wrote and made statement before the EFCC confirming the refund.”

Mkpe disclosed that Alhaji Numan Danbatta is the owner of property Plot Number 2245 in Maitama for which N650 million was paid by the ONSA into the account of Tunji Adeniyi & Co.

“I did not take statement from Alhaji Danbatta, and I have never sighted any statement given by him in the course of our investigation.

All the five members of the EFCC Special Task Force Team 2 which investigated the complaint of the Presidential committee were non-conventional police officers, except one, CSP Ibrahim Musa, and said that the team was disbanded immediately after they concluded their investigation.

Mkpe had earlier told the Justice Dimgba that he was aware that a member of the Presidential committee which sent the complaint to the EFCC to investigate, had been arrested, detained and being investigated by the Department of State Security (DSS) for alleged fraud.

Exhibits were later tendered and admitted before the court as Exhibit ASO23 while the judge told the prosecution to make available the original copy of the exhibits to the defence on or before the adjourned date.

Azibaola Robert, wife, Stella and his firm, Oneplus, are standing trial for allegedly receiving $40 million from the ONSA for the supply of security communication kits but which was laundered.

But all the prosecution witnesses except Mkpe, who claimed to have investigated the suspects, have denied transacting any business or knowing them before they met in court.

The case has been adjourned till October 18 and 20, 2017.