"Sometime in January 2015, I also got a call from the 1st defendant (Mr. Tuoyo) telling me that I will be getting a payment from a company known as Building Associates. I later got an inflow of N349,650,000 into the Heritage Bank account of my company, College-Pro Synergy Ltd."
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday commenced the trial of Tuoyo Omatsuli, a former Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and three others over alleged N3.6billion fraud at a Federal High Court in Lagos.
On November 8, 2018, the anti-graft agency had docked Omatsuli alongside Don Parker Properties Ltd, Francis Momoh and Building Associates Ltd before Justice Saliu Saidu on a 45-count charge bordering on the alleged offence.
At Wednesday's proceedings, EFCC called its first witness, Eyo Bassey Francis, a software developer and contractor. Led in evidence by Ekele Iheanacho, the EFCC counsel, the witness said he had executed contracts for the NDDC as well as Akwa Ibom, Imo and Abia state governments.
He also narrated how huge sums of money were transferred to the account of two of his companies by Omatsuli in 2014.
He said: "In 2014, while as a contractor with NDDC, I came in contact with Mr. Tuoyo Omatsuli. In the course of our interaction, I told him that I run an online platform and I do a lot of imports. I also told him that because of my engagement in import, I was able to source for foreign currencies.
“He later called me on phone and told me that some money will be transferred into my account. I got initial sum of N80million transferred into the Heritage Bank account of one of my companies, Asiladrrin Global Consulting Ltd. I converted the money into dollars as directed by Mr. Tuoyo.”
Francis also disclosed that he had an inflow of N340million in two tranches of N160million and N180million into the company's account within the same period. He said he also converted the money into dollars and "handed it over to Mr. Tuoyo, NDDC's Executive Director of Finance and Administration, as well as the NDDC's MD".
Speaking further, the witness said: "Sometime in January 2015, I also got a call from the 1st defendant (Mr. Tuoyo) telling me that I will be getting a payment from a company known as Building Associates. I later got an inflow of N349,650,000 into the Heritage Bank account of my company, College-Pro Synergy Ltd.
"I was furnished with an account of a firm, Greenhouse Investment, owned by the Special Assistant on Finance to the then NDDC's MD to which I transferred N100million. The balance was converted to dollars as directed by Mr. Tuoyo.”
When asked by the prosecution lawyer whether he executed any contract for Building Associates Ltd to warrant the transfer of the fund to his company's account, he said: "I did not execute any contract for Building Associate.”
Under cross-examination by Professor Amuda Kehinde (SAN), Tuoyo's lawyer, the witness said he did not transfer any money to the 1st defendant’s account. He maintained that his oral testimony was part of the statement he wrote on August 14, 2017, for the EFCC.
Further hearing in the trial continues on April 11, 2019.
In the charge, Omatsuli is accused of procuring the third and fourth accused (Momoh and Building Associates) to utilise a total sum of N3.6billion paid by Starline Consultancy Services Ltd into an account operated by the fourth accused.
The prosecution said they ought to have known that the said sums, formed part of the proceeds of unlawful activities, which include corruption and gratification.
The offences which were allegedly committed between August 2014 and September 2015 contravene the provisions of Sections 15(1), 15(2), 15(3) and 18 of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011, as amended by Act No 1 of 2012.