A Bureau-de-Change (BDC) operator Abubakar Umar, has narrated how he converted the sum of N3.1 billion, wired to him by former Benue State governor, Gabriel Suswam and delivered its equivalent of $15.8m in cash to him at his Maitama, Abuja residence in 2014.
Umar spoke as the 6th prosecution witness in the trial of Suswam, who was governor of Benue State from 2007 to 2015 on 11-count amended charges of money-laundering to the tune of N3.1 billion by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC).
Suswan is being tried alongside his then-Commissioner of Finance, Omodachi Okolobia for laundering the N3.1 billion, alleged to be part of the proceeds from the sales of the State government’s shares held on its behalf by the Benue Investment and Property Company Ltd., sold through Elixir Securities Limited and Elixir Investment Partners Ltd.
Speaking at the court on Friday, the BDC operator, who is also CEO of Fanffash Resources, who has been testifying on the matter since 2018, first, before Justice A.R Mohammed, and later Justice Okon Abang, disclosed that the total sum of N3.1 billion, which he said amounted to $15.8 million at the rate of N197 to a dollar, was transferred to him by Suswam through a proxy in tranches, with the first tranche of N413 million hitting his account on August 8, 2014 and the remaining, coming in subsequently, to sum up to N3.1billion.
Umar, while being led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, (SAN,) affirmed that the proxy who did the naira transfers to him was a woman. According to the witness, he had to change a total sum of N3.1billion to dollars and delivered it to Suswam in his Maitama, Abuja residence.
The witness, who stated that he was neither arrested by the EFCC for giving any testimony in favour of the defendant, nor threatened by the Commission to give evidence against the defendant, further disclosed that he did not have receipts for the transactions; also, there was no record book for them, stating that he buys dollars from his fellow retailers and only records based on discretion.
Justice Lifu adjourned the matter till October 4,2024, for continuation of trial.
