Saraki docked
A prosecution witness yesterday disclosed to the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) in Abuja that the Kwara State Government paid about N1.2million monthly as salary and pension to former Governor Bukola Saraki, four years after he ceased to occupy the office.
The witness in his false assets declaration trial before the CCT said although Saraki had been a senator since May 2011, after the expiration of his second term as governor, the state government only “stopped crediting his account with N1,165,466.12 monthly as salary and or pension on August 31, 2015”.
Michael Wetkas, an official of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), who opened his testimony on Tuesday as the first prosecution witness, continued yesterday.
Wetkas, led in evidence by the lead prosecution witness, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), testified for about five hours, during which he gave details of transactions in Saraki’s three accounts operated in naira, dollar and pound sterling with the Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB).
The witness gave details of how several funds, which he said belonged to Kwara State, were allegedly diverted into Saraki’s private accounts both in Nigeria and overseas, with which he purportedly acquired property and liquidated some personal loans.
Wetkas, who drew the tribunal’s attention to some “suspicious” transactions in the defendant’s accounts with GTB, noted that during investigation, it was discovered that the identity of those making payments into the accounts were deliberately hidden by the bank.
The witness, who was part of the investigating team, said most of the bank tellers for payment were completed in similar hand writing, but without the address and phone numbers of the depositors.
He said the investigators also found that staff of the bank allegedly aided the defendant in some of the suspicious transactions in his accounts.
Wetlkas said although the EFCC confronted the bank with the conduct of its staff and that most of the tellers were not properly completed, the bank said it had reported the discovery to the National Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) as required.
But reacting to the prosecuting witness, Kwara state government disclosed that the said amount was paid as pension to the ex-governor and not salary as claimed by the witness.
The trial has been adjourned to April 18.
