Alleged N304.1m fraud: Court admits more evidence against Ex-NIMASA DG, 2 others

*Federal High Court sitting in Lagos

(Nigeria) A senior investigating officer with Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Orji Chukwuma, has narrated to a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, on Tuesday, how a former acting Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Haruna Jauro, and two others laundered various sums of funds allegedly belonging to NIMASA.

Trial judge in the matter is Justice Tijjani Ringim.  

Jauro alongside Dr. Dauda Bawa and a company, Thlumbau Enterprises Limited, is being prosecuted on a 19-count charge of stealing and money laundering to the tune of N304,118, 500.

At the resumed hearing on Tuesday the prosecution presented its third prosecution witness, PW3, Orji Chukwuma who investigated the alleged crime.  

Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, Chukwuma, of the Chairman Monitoring Unit, EFCC, Abuja, told the court that he was Head, Special Task Force Unit 3, Lagos Zonal Command, at the time of the investigation of the alleged fraud.   

When asked if he knew the defendants and the company, Thlumbau Enterprises Limited, the PW3, whose team was tasked with investigating money laundering and other financial crimes, stated that he came across all the defendants in the course of his investigation, upon receipt of intelligence reports against the management of NIMASA.

According to him, in the course of investigations, various enquiries were made to banks and staff of NIMASA and that interviews were also conducted on staff, banks’ employees, contractors to NIMASA, corporate organisations, individuals who made payments into the 3rd and 1st defendants’ accounts as well as some beneficiaries  of the proceeds made by them. Investigations revealed that the 3rd defendant was incorporated by the 1st  defendant, using his children, while the 2nd defendant operated the account of the 3rd defendant.

“Further investigation revealed that proceeds of unlawful activities of the 1st defendant, while he was the Executive Director of Finance and Administration in NIMASA, was concealed and laundered for his benefit through the 3rd defendant. The proceeds was used to acquire a property in Abuja,” he said.

In his further testimony, Chukwuma told the court that funds co-mingled with loans taken from Aso Savings Limited to also acquire two other houses in Lagos.

Asked if he could identify both Exhibits AI and A2, which are the 3rd defendant’s statement of account containing the proceeds of the enquiries and investigations he carried out, the PW3  identified exhibit A series as the 3rd defendant’s mandate and statement of accounts, responses to the EFCC’s enquires as well as the instruments used to move money out of the 3rd defendant’s account.

Giving evidence about Exhibit A1 and the share structures of the 3rd defendant, the PW3 told the court that one Samuel Baba had 500,000 ordinary units; one Salome Baba owned 250,000, ordinary shares and  one Ila Haruna owned 200,000, ordinary shares.

He also stated that the names mentioned are children and relations of the 1st defendant and that their addresses are the same as his.

When asked if he could identify the enquiries he recovered while conducting investigations in NIMASA, the PW3 did, adding that they were documents from NIMASA to banks to effect payments.

The prosecution sought to tender a copy of the internal memo of NIMASA dated July 8, 2014, and two letters of instructions to Access Bank from NIMASA dated January 3, 2014.

They were all admitted and marked as exhibits B, B1 and B2 by the court.

During the proceedings, the prosecution counsel also asked the witness if there was an exchange of correspondence regarding  the Aso Savings loans he earlier talked about, to which he answered in the affirmative, adding that it contained the mandate , statement of account, certificate of identification and mortgage correspondence of the first defendant.

The prosecution counsel also sought to tender the letter dated February 10, 2016,  from Aso Savings and Loans Plc to the EFCC with its attachments, and they were all admitted in evidence and marked as exhibit C.   

While giving further testimony about exhibit A and some etries made on January 6, ,2014, Chukwuma  explained that there was an inflow of N15million, that came from the Committee of Intelligence belonging to NIMASA.

He said: “The Committee is set up and funded by NIMASA for specific purposes related to security.

“Investigations showed, from the account statement of January 23, 2014, that the sum of N12million  out of the N15million was transferred to the account of the first defendant in Aso Savings to manage the loans he took to buy property.

“On July 10, 2014, another sum of N20million, was also paid into the account of the third defendant.

“Subsequently, the 2nd defendant also benefited the sum ofN1. 47million, which was later returned to the Commission in a draft.”

When he was shown copies of the draft by the prosecution counsel, he identified them as the statement of one Ishaq Banabas, who returned the total sum of N35million, through five different bank drafts to the EFCC Draft Registration Form Receipt.

The drafts as well as the EFCC 

Draft Registration Form receipt were admitted in evidence and marked as exhibits D and D1, respectively. The PW3, in his further testimony, told the court that the sum of N20million, was transferred by Kishini Nigeria Limited and another N5million, was paid into the third defendant by Eminent Consult.

The 3rd defendant’s account, according to him, was co-mingled and aggregated to the sum of N52million, paid to one Helen Mbonu , who used it to purchase a house for the first defendant. When asked about the various entries  in the exhibit A series, the PW3 told the Court that there were several  inflows from various individuals  and companies into the 3rd defendant’s accounts, including Sulaiman Mohammed, Komas Mega BDC, Dan Asabe, Mustapha Buka,  Dulbangon Enterprise,  Kostam Mega Concept, Kolomi Mohammed, Abubakar Mansur, Mukaila Jubrila, Alkawali Nigerian Enterprise and Hassan.  

Asked if the third defendant rendered any services that led to the various cash payments totaling N120million, the witness told the court that the 3rd defendant never rendered any services, adding that “the payments are proceeds of unlawful activities.”

The case was adjourned till March 15, 2023, for continuation of trial.