N600 million fraud: Lagos Speaker, Ikuforiji, spent funds on foreign trips, wife, others – EFCC witness
An EFCC witness, Adebayo Adeniyi today(Tuesday) told the court how Lagos State Speaker, Rt Hon Adeyemi Ikuforiji collected N13.5 million for honorarium, N4.5 million for renovation of the Speaker’s residence, and N1.5 million for the Speaker’s Guest House every month for six consecutive months.
“On August 1, 2011, N4.4 million was paid to the Speaker as “cost of allowance”; his personal assistant and orderly pocketed N1.2 million and N1.1 million respectively”. He alleged.
Testifying further, the witness who alleged that the monies were collected by Mr. Atoyebi and paid for in cash, alleged further: On July 14, 2011, N5.4 million was paid to Mr. Ikuforiji for a trip to San Diego, California; his personal assistant and orderly collected N1.3 million and N1.2 million respectively.
Adeniyi revealed further that on August 1, 2011, N4.4 million was paid to the Speaker as “cost of allowance”; his personal assistant and orderly pocketed N1.2 million and N1.1 million respectively and two days later, N10 million was again paid to the Speaker for Ramadan.
Same month according to him, N6.4 million was paid to Mayowa Ikuforiji, the Speaker’s wife; and N1.3 million to the wife’s orderly.
“Between January and June 2011, N13.5 million was paid as honorarium, every month, to the Speaker. N4 million and N1 million were also paid monthly, within the stated period, for the renovation of the Speaker’s official residence and guest house respectively”. He said.
When cross examined why there were columns with Cheque numbers in the cash register, Mr. Adeniyi responded: “What they do is that a cheque is raised in most cases in the name of the Permanent Secretary and cashed from the bank.
“It is this cash that is eventually paid and registered in this document, the details of payments. Basically, these cash payments are supposed to be made through a financial institution, paid to the beneficiaries, not through cash payments. Cash payments stall the tracing of the monies.
“We discovered that some of it was paid into the account of the first accused person. Some of it was used for his credit card and other personal matters,” he added.
Responding to the Speaker’s counsel Wole Olanipekun , Mr. Adeniyi said, he was not aware what the Speaker used the monies for.
“Our investigation is not focused on knowing whether he spent the money on his personal house.
“From our investigation, we did not go in depth into who approved the disbursements, we were particular about the cash disbursement which was above the threshold of transactions by a Permanent Secretary.
“Any payment must be made through e-payment, most especially when it is above the threshold,” he submitted.
When shown one of the cash registers by the defence lawyer, Mr. Adeniyi said he could not “remember seeing it.”
EFCC counsel, Mr. Obia objected to the question, insisting that the defence must tender the cash register as an exhibit before it court be used for cross examination.
The judge, however, told Mr Obia, the defence was at liberty to use any document that had been brought before the court.
“You cannot file a document and your witness said he cannot remember seeing it. If it was filed by the defence, it is a different ball game altogether,” the judge submitted and added, “Once you have provided this document, it is for them (the defence) to use it at their own time during the trial, not at your own time”.
The speaker and Oyebode Atoyebi, his aide, are facing a 54-count amended charge of money laundering amounting to over N600 million.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, accused the Speaker and his aide of receiving the money from the Lagos State House of Assembly without passing through a financial institution.
The trial has been adjourned till April 28