How Ohakim paid N270m for Asokoro property - EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, yesterday, tabled before an Abuja Federal High Court details of how the former Imo State Governor, Mr. Ikedi Ohakim, paid for a property he is currently living in Asokoro District in Abuja with cash of $2,900,000 (equivalent of N270 million) in one day.

Ohakim

The revelation was made by the anti-graft agency at the resumption of proceedings in the trial of Ohakim before Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court Abuja.

The prosecution witness who gave a blow-by-blow account of how the former governor made a cash payment for a piece of land at Plot No. 1098 Cadastral Zone A04, Asokoro District, otherwise known as No.60, Kwame Nkrumah Street, Asokoro, Abuja, also tendered statements already volunteered by the suspects in the matter.

Justice Ademola had admitted Ohakim to bail on Thursday, July 9, 2015, following his arraignment on Wednesday, July 8, 2015 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a three-count charge bordering on money laundering.

At the hearing, prosecution witness, Ishaya Dauda, said investigation into the alleged offence began in 2010, after the commission received petitions coupled with intelligence reports.

Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Festus Keyamo, Dauda, a Senior Detective Superintendent with the EFCC, said the accused person, who served as Imo State governor between 2007 and 2011, was invited to the EFCC office in 2013.

“I gave him the petitions to go through and asked him if he would be willing to volunteer a statement or not and he answered in the affirmative. I then administered the word of caution and EFCC statement form on him. I also asked him whether he understood the word of caution and he said yes; then, he signed the form, indicating that he understood the word of caution,” he told the court.

According to him, the accused person was given the EFCC Asset Declaration form to fill, in addition to his statements that were obtained five times between 2013 and 2015.

Copies of the five statements, which were obtained on January 25, 2013; January 31, 2013; June 18, 2015; June 22, 2015 and June 29, 2015, were tendered and admitted in evidence as exhibits EFCC 1 to five.

Giving further evidence, Dauda said the accused person made copious statements regarding the said property.

“Working on the intelligence reports at our disposal, after the accused person had declared his assets, it was discovered that there was no banking transaction for the purchase of the property. We found out that only cash payment was made in respect of the property. So, we took the accused person to the property. When we brought him back to our office, we asked him who owns the property and he said he rented the property through one Abu Sule, Managing Director, Tweeenex Consociate H.D. Limited.”

How Ohakim paid N270m for Asokoro property - EFCC

Court grants Ohakim N270m bail for N270m fraud

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday granted a former Governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim, bail in the sum of N270m.

Ohakim

Ohakim, who is being prosecuted for N270m fraud allegedly perpetrated in 2008, is to produce a surety resident in Abuja to guarantee the bail.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola, in his ruling on the bail application, filed by Ohakim, also ordered the prosecuting agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, ‎to submit the passport and other travel documents seized from the former governor to the Deputy Chief Registrar of the court.

The judge was silent on where the accused person should remain pending when he would meet the bail conditions.

But Justice Ademola had, on Wednesday, ordered the accused person to remain in EFCC custody pending the hearing of his bail application on Thursday.

At the hearing of the bail application on Thursday, the defence counsel, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), urged the court to grant his client’s prayer.

He said his client, whose passport had been seized by the EFCC, had remained faithful to the bail conditions granted him by the anti-graft agency.

But the prosecutor, Mr. Festus Keyamo, opposed the bail.

He argued that rather than granting bail to the accused person‎, the court should grant an accelerated hearing.

But the judge in his ruling held that the accused person had placed sufficient materials before the court to warrant granting him bail.

The EFCC had on Wednesday arraigned Ohakim on three counts of fraud, including making cash payment of $2.29m (N270m) for a property in Asokoro, Abuja.

The prosecution also accused the former governor of collaborating with Tweenex Consociates H.D. Ltd. ‎to conceal the ownership of the property by drafting an agreement portraying him as a tenant in the property.

Ohakim, who was governor of Imo State between May 2007 and May 2001, was also accused of failing to declare the property as part of his assets while under EFCC arrest in November 2008.

The offences were allegedly committed in 2008 in violation of section 15(1)(d) and section 14(1)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004, respectively.

Meanwhile, Justice Evoh Chukwu of the same Federal High Court in Abuja, had on Wednesday fixed hearing of the bail application filed by former Adamawa State governor, Murtala Nyako, his son Abdul-Aziz and others till Friday.

The EFCC had also on Wednesday arraigned Nyako, who was removed as Adamawa State Governor by the state House of Assembly on July 15, 2014, along with his son, Abdul-Aziz, and others comprising, Zulkifikk Abba, Abubakar Aliyu as well as five firms through which he allegedly siphoned about N29bn belonging to the state.

‎The other firms arraigned along with Nyako and his son were Blue Opal Limited, Sebore Farms and Extension Limited, Pagoda Fortunes Limited, Tower Assets Management Limited and Crust Energy Limited.

Court grants Ohakim N270m bail for N270m fraud