The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)\u2019s witness, Mr Hamma-Adama Bello, has told a Federal High Court (FHC), Abuja how Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, immediate-past Head of Service (HoS), used her companies to launder government\u2019s funds while in service.<\/p>\n
Bello, a Chief Superintendent of EFCC and Head, Special Investigation Team (SIT), told Justice James Omotosho on Tuesday in Abuja when testifying as 8th prosecution witness (PW8).<\/p>\n
The PW8, while being led in evidence by the EFCC\u2019s lawyer, Farouk Abdullah, said his team received an intelligence from the office of the anti-graft agency\u2019s chairman sometimes in 2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe intelligence bordered on the activities of the 1st defendant (Oyo-Ita), her minister then in the Ministry of Special Duty and Inter-Governmental Affairs where she was serving.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 1st defendant was the permanent secretary then, and other staff that include Mr Ubong, the 7th defendant.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe team developed intelligence and started the investigation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the course of the investigation, we called for documents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe nature of the intelligence was such that the 1st and 7th defendants and a host of others were using their office to get contracts for companies they incorporated or have interest in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The witness said the team invited Oyo-Ita and her Special Assistant, Ubong Effiok, having received an analysed documents relating to the intelligence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe team had an interaction with them and in the cause of the interaction, Mr Garba Umar, who is also the 4th defendant became a person of interest for the investigation and he was invited. We also had an interaction with him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
According to him, it was discovered that the 1st defendant was the beneficial owner of two companies; Frontline Ace Global Services Limited and Asanaya Projects Ltd.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also discovered that the 1st defendant also has interest in Asanaya Farms Ltd,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Bello told the court that investigation revealed that Oyo-Ita maintained two accounts in Zenith Bank Plc for Frontline Ace Global Services Limited.<\/p>\n
Besides, he said it was discovered that the ex-HoS had severally sat as chairman, CEO of Frontline Ace Global Services ltd where she issued both resolutions to open the said accounts.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving analysed these two board resolutions issued by 1st defendant, the team realised that the 1st defendant is the beneficial owner of the accounts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe carried out a careful analysis of the account she was closing and came to a conclusion that about N124 million has passed through this account.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe realised that there were payments in 2010 from Federal Ministry of Power into the account and other agencies like Power Holding Company of Nigeria (when it was a government\u2019s agency).<\/p>\n
\u201cThese payments were from government coffers while she was serving as a deputy director in the same ministry,\u201d he told the court.<\/p>\n
Justice Omotosho adjourned the matter until Jan. 26 for continuation of trial.<\/p>\n
The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) reports that Oyo-Ita and her co-defendants were, on Jan. 18, 2023, arraigned by the anti-graft agency on an 18-count charge of N3 billion graft.<\/p>\n
She was arraigned alongside her Special Assistant, Effiok; Frontline Ace Global Services Limited; Asanaya Projects Ltd; Garba Umar and his companies, Slopes International Ltd and Gooddeal Investments Ltd.<\/p>\n
Other defendants include U & U Global Services Ltd, belonging to Mr Effiok, and Prince Mega Logistics Ltd.
\nThey were all arraigned for alleged fraud in relation to duty tour allowance (DTA), estacodes, conference fees and receiving kickbacks on contracts.<\/p>\n
The defendants all pleaded not guilty to the charge.<\/p>\n
They were arranged before Justice Taiwo on March 23, 2020, on the same count charge.<\/p>\n
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)\u2019s witness, Mr Hamma-Adama Bello, has told a Federal High Court (FHC), Abuja how Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, immediate-past Head of Service (HoS), used her…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":72487,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n