Mustapha Gadanya, a prosecution witness (PW4) in the ongoing trial of the seven persons accused of complicity in the over N24billion scam in the police pension office, on Thursday, told the court that the accused persons conspired with banks to launder police pension funds.

 

The accused are standing trial before Justice Hussein Baba Yusuf of the Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja

 

The accused persons are: Esai Dangabar, Atiku Abubakar Kigo, Ahmed Inuwa Wada, Mrs. Veronica Ulonma Onyegbula, Sani Habila Zira, Uzoma Cyril Attang and Christian Madubuke.

 

Daily Post reports that Gadanya, whose evidence started yesterday, told the court while being led in evidence by counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, that the first accused, Esai Dangaba’s bank statement was obtained and analyzed.

 

According to him, the analysis revealed that the bank statement did not reflect the investments as seen in the pay deposits advices recovered from the accused office.

 

“The bank was helping accused to launder money. Funds were kept in the bank’s suspense account and later fixed, never entering his company account”, Gadanya told the court.

 

The witness further stated that several funds discovered in the first accused account (close to a billion naira) had been withheld by the Federal Government.

 

“Investigations revealed that several hundreds of millions fixed as investment deposits made by the first accused person through his companies AMT Global Concept and Damule Nigeria Limited were made when he was a director in the Police Pension Office”, he said.

 

Documents in support of the claim were tendered in evidence and admitted by the court as exhibits.

 

Giving further details of the complicity of Dangabar in the matter, Gadanya said, the accused was also discovered to be the managing director and the sole signatory of Damule Nigeria Limited, the company where he had his wife and two sons listed as directors.

 

The witness also named two properties located at Utako and Jabi which Dangabar bought worth hundreds of millions naira, one from a senator, in the name of his company Damule Nigeria Limited which he said had been forfeited temporarily to the Federal Government.

 

Justice Baba adjourned to March 17 and 18, 2016 for continuation of trial.