A contractor, Olugbenga Obadina, is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for receiving payments from the Office of the National Security Adviser, (NSA) on November 28, 2015, without any contractual agreement.
Obadina told Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court, Abuja that the payments made to his company, Almond Projects Limited were neither meant for the installation of a power plant in Yobe State nor any power project whatsoever in the state.
The contractor and his company, Almond Projects Limited, first and second defendants respectively, are being prosecuted by the EFCC on eight counts bordering on conspiracy, official corruption and money laundering to the tune of N2,17,190,000 (Two Billion, Seventeen Million, One Hundred and Ninety Thousand Naira), being payment they allegedly received from the Office of the National Security Adviser under Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retd.) on November 28, 2015 for doing nothing or scheduled to do anything on behalf of the Nigerian government.
When the matter came up on Monday, under cross-examination based on his evidence-in-chief, prosecution counsel, Ibrahim Buba asked the defendant to identify the project for which payments were made to his company.
A statement by EFCC's Head Media and Publicity Dele Oyewale, said that Obadina was specifically asked to state if the payment was for the purpose of installing a power plant or any power project in Yobe State, to which he answered in the negative.
“My lord, with reference to payments in the document that is written, particularly to the Almond project, no site was mentioned in all of the descriptions. No location was mentioned in any of the descriptions my lord,” he said.
Prodded further by the prosecution counsel to confirm if it would be right to say that no part of the payments was made for the installation of solar or power plants in Yobe State, the defendant said, “Yes, none of these payments was made for the installation of solar in the state.”
Citing the defendant’s extra-judicial statement, marked Exhibit GO1, 1-9, the prosecution counsel pointed out that there was nowhere in the entirety of the defendant’s statement where he specifically mentioned a particular area in Yobe State where the project was to be executed.
Though the defendant contested the claim, saying that he mentioned a site outside Damataru, the state capital, he could not point to it in his statement when challenged by the prosecution counsel to do so.
There was no re-examination from the defence and Justice Dimgba adjourned the matter till May 30 and 31, 2024 for continuation of trial.