A prosecution witness on Tuesday told the Federal High Court in Lagos how N3 billion credited to the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) was diverted to personal use under the then Chief of Air Staff, Adesola Amosu.
Okechukwu Akubue, who is an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), said N3 billion was credited by NIMASA in the NAF’s Special Emergency Operations Account domiciled in Zenith Bank in three tranches.
Akubue, who started testifying as the first prosecution witness on Monday, had told the judge, Chukwujekwu Aneke, that NIMASA paid the N3 billion to NAF in three tranches ”for the protection of Nigeria’s waterways”.
The witness said NAF received the first tranche of N1 billion from NIMASA on August 28, 2014; the second tranche of N1 billion on September 15, 2014 and the third tranche of N1 billion on September 23, 2014.
The witness alleged that the funds paid to NAF between August and September 2014 were diverted by the defendants.
The EFCC is prosecuting Amosu alongside Jacob Adigun and Gbadebo Owodunni, on amended 13 counts of fraud involving the diversion of N21 billion belonging to NAF.
The commission stated that Adigun was an Air Vice Marshal and NAF Chief of Accounts and Budget, while Owodunni was an Air Commodore and former NAF Director of Finance and Budget.
The witness said, “Further to the N1 billion credit inflow from NIMASA, we found debit of N4,801,549 on behalf of Hebron Housing and Property, a company linked to the second defendant by way of ownership.”
He said the Ecobank account in which the money was credited is also owned by the second defendant and the fund was not utilised for the NAF but for the benefits of the defendants.
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