A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of the former National Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Bello Haliru and his son, Abba on Wednesday told the Federal High Court in Abuja that BAM Projects and Properties, a company said to be owned by former PDP chair, was paid N300 million by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The witness, Aliyu Mohammed Mukddas, who was the sixth so far called by the prosecution told the court while being led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Olalekan Atolagbe that the narration on the payment mandate showed that the payment was given as ‘Safe Houses’ which the amount was for N300million.
Mukddas, a senior manager with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) told the court that he did not know whether the payment was for contract that was executed, as that was not part of his schedule of work at the apex bank.
The witness, who was a senior manager in the payment section of the CBN between 2010 and 2015, gave details on procedures for payment to Ministries, Department and Agencies.
According to him, agencies would bring their payment schedule showing the date, name of the organization, amount in words/figure and details of beneficiaries.
He added that the schedule must be duly signed by signatories to the account of that organisation after which it would be brought by the confirmation officer.
“The confirmation would be done before us with his name, signature, date and thumb print before payment are made to the beneficiaries”, he said.
The PW6 further explained that, “when the payment schedule is received, the CBN passes it for verification of signatories and also check account balance before it is passed for payment”.
When asked if he knows of an ONSA account, he told the court that, “it is an account managed by CBN and it is funded by Office of Accountant General of the Federation”.
According to him, “the account has two source of funding, sometime from office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and mostly from the Accountant General of the Federation”.
Mukddas told the court that, “between 2012 and 2015, the main signatory to the account was Mohammed Sambo Dasuki and also another signatory was the then Director Finance and Account S. A. Salisu, while the confirmation officer was Yazeed Ibrahim”.
After the evidence in chief by the witness, the trial Judge adjourned till July 5, 2017 for cross examination of the witness and continuation of trial.
Bello and his son are on trial alongside their Company, Bam Project and Properties Limited, on a 4-count charge of money laundering preferred against them by the EFCC.
They were alleged to have collected N300million from the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, being part of the funds meant to fight insurgency in the North-East of the country.
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