Tuesday saw the opening of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) money laundering prosecution against former Anambra governor Willie Obiano, with two witnesses testifying at the Federal High Court’s Abuja Division.
The EFCC’s attorney, Sylvanus Tahir (SAN), called Tochukwu Aloysius Nnadi, a staff member of a commercial bank, and Chinwe Patricia Egbunam, a businesswoman headquartered in Onitsha, as first and second prosecution witnesses before Justice Inyang Ekwo.
He was accused of misappropriating more than N4 billion from the state treasury in a nine-count indictment.
Upon calling the case, Mr. Nnadi, the first prosecution witness (PW-1), identified himself to the court as an Anambra bank manager at Awka.
According to Mr. Nnadi, one of his responsibilities was to oversee clients’ accounts and communicate with anti-graft organizations by supplying pertinent account information.
As branch manager, he claimed to have received an invitation from the EFCC concerning the probe of Mr. Obiano’s financial dealings during his tenure as Anambra governor, which extended from March 2014 to March 2022.
The witness stated, “The state government maintains multiple accounts with our bank, and one of such accounts was for security votes.” He said that the security vote account was not unique in any way.
He added that the account was primarily funded by the office of the state accountant general, with the majority of the money coming from internally generated revenue (IGR).
Weekly payments were made into the account, and any withdrawals from the account were always done at the account operators’ recommendation.
The witness continued, “We provided the EFCC with documents containing the names of all the beneficiaries, and we made payments from the account to various entities and corporate organizations.”
He did, however, deny Mr. Tahir, the prosecution attorney, his request to reveal the identities of some of the beneficiaries in public, claiming that doing so would violate his “oath of secrecy.”
According to directives from the account operators, monies could be removed by cash withdrawals, manager’s checks, transfers, and drafts.
“Certified true copies (CTCs) of the statements of account, the cover letter for the statements of account, the packages used to open the account, and the certificates of identification for each account were among the documents I submitted to the EFCC,” the man stated.
Concurrently, the court received and admitted into evidence the 794-page bundle of bank records as Exhibit PW-1 (A1-A 794)
A second set of documents, dated June 1, 2023, that displayed the account debits, was also entered into evidence.
Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, the attorney for Mr. Obiano, stated that his client will hold off on objecting to the exhibits until his last speech.
Moment of Peace Ventures, Easy Diamond Integrated Links, and Nasdaq Ventures were among the names the witness named when asked to read out to the court from the exhibit some of the beneficiaries of cash that were transferred out of the account.
During his cross-examination, Mr. Nnadi said in court that every transaction involving his bank was carried out in accordance with the instructions on each individual account.
Ms. Egbunam, who stated that she engaged in sales of Turkish clothing, climbed the box and testified after Mr. Nnadi ended his testimony and was dismissed.
She said in court that on May 20, she got a call requesting her presence at the EFCC office regarding some money that had gone through her business, C.I. Party Ventures Nigeria Limited.
“When I arrived at the EFCC, I informed them that while I knew nothing about the money, I had asked my account officer, Ugochukwu Otibelu, to assist me in upgrading my account so that I could fulfill the requirements of the Turkish Embassy.”
Ms. Egbunam stated, “My account officer accepted my request and collected my company account and cheque,” and added that Mr. Ugochukwu was to upgrade her account so she could travel and pay for it.
“But, I was informed at the EFCC that the Anambra State government sent roughly N156.8 million through my account,” the woman stated.
The witness informed the court during cross-examination that the plan was for her account officer to help with the money coming into her company’s account.
She stated in court that since the money was not hers, she did not touch it when it was wired into the account.
The witness also informed the court that the directors of the company’s account were members of her family.
“I never had any dealings with the defendant other than the fact that he was the governor of Anambra State,” she continued.
The witness responded, “I currently stay in Anambra,” when asked to describe the state’s security condition while Mr. Obiano was governor. Every Monday, there is typically no action in the state because of a sit-at-home order.
“I am aware of IPOB and ESN, and they are fully operational in Anambra State.”
She noted that in order to keep peace in the state, Mr. Obiano collaborated with churches and other organizations while serving as governor.
The matter was postponed till Wednesday by Mr. Ekwo in order to continue the trial.
