The Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday heard how a former acting Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Calistus Obi, allegedly converted over N378 million to his personal use.
Obi, a former NIMASA Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Service, took over from Patrick Akpobolokemi, who is facing five separate fraud and theft charges.
Obi, Dismass Alu Adoon, Grand Pact Limited and Global Sea Investment Limited were arraigned on an eight- count charge of converting N378, 810,000 belonging to NIMASA to personal use.
At his trial on Monday, an unlicensed Bureau De Change operator, Mallam Sulaiman Oseni, said he changed N111 million for Dismass three times.
Oseni said he first changed N12 million, which he handed over to him at NIMASA’s office in Apapa.
According to him, Dismass also sent N49.5 million twice which he changed to dollars and gave him at a hotel in Ikoyi, Lagos.
Oseni, who said because his firm was not registered, claimed that sometimes he paid the monies given to him into the account of his boss, Mallam Koloni Mohammed.
Muhammed also testified that he changed of $350,000 for the accused persons through Oseni.
Mohammed said he had no business relationship with NIMASA, adding that Oseni forwarded his account details to NIMASA through which the officials paid the monies.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.