A witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the ongoing trial of the former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh (rtd), on Tuesday, April 19, 2016, told a Federal High Court in Abuja that there was an error in the statement he made to the anti-graft agency during interrogation.
The witness, Air Commodore Abdullahi Yushau, a former NAF Director of Finance, in his evidence at the resumed hearing of the matter yesterday said in his evidence before the court that one of the buildings allegedly purchased by Badeh was paid for instalmentally but informed EFCC earlier in his statement that the property was paid for at once.
Badeh is facing trial on a 10-count charge slammed against him and Iyalikam Nigeria Limited, a company believed to be owned by him.
When the witness was confronted with the fact on how the property was purchased by Badeh’s counsel, Chief Akin Olujimi (SAN), he admitted that it must have been an error on his part.
The witness told the court that the shopping complex, which he told the court in his testimony was bought in the sum of N650 million was not captured in details in the statement he made to the EFCC.
His words; “I cannot remember everything I said in my statement to the EFCC because I was answering the questions based on how they were being put across to me by investigators.
“I know that it is not everything I am telling the court here that was captured in my statement, but the fact is that everything I told the EFCC was within my knowledge and the records are there,” he said.
The prosecution witness also told the court that Badeh, and one Barrister Hussein Umar inspected some properties in Maitama and Wuse 11, Abuja and thereafter purchased the property in the name of Iyalikam Property Limited and Alex Badeh junior.
“After we inspected the property and after being satisfied, he (Badeh) gave me a name, in which the property should be purchased and I forwarded the name, following the instruction of my boss.
“I did not say all these in my statement because I was answering the questions as they were put through to me by the EFCC”, he added and further told the court that when he was appointed Director, Finance and Account of NAF, he told his boss that he wanted to leave the service before his due date of retirement.
Badeh and his company were also accused of removing from the accounts of the NAF, and did use Dollar equivalent of N650 million to purchase a commercial plot at plot 1386, Oda Crescent Cadastral zone Ao7 Wuse ll Abuja.
The offence, the EFCC said, is contrary to Section 15 (2) (d) of money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act.
The defendants were said to have between March 28 and December 2013, in Abuja did use an aggregate sum of N878,362,732.94, removed from NAF accounts and paid into account of Rytebuilders Technologies Ltd with Zenith Bank Plc for construction of a shopping mall in plot 1386, Cadastral zone.
It was equally alleged that the defendants removed the sum of N304 million from the accounts of the NAF and paid it to Rytebuilders for the completion of the shopping mall and that he also use N260 million Dollar equivalent removed from the NAF accounts and paid to one Oluwatoyin Oke through Platinum Universal Project and Construction to purchase for his son, Alex Badeh (jnr), a duplex at No 19 Kumasi crescent Wuse Abuja.
