Former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, testified before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, November 29, 2023. He disclosed how the failure of the defunct commercial bank, Diamond Bank, to disburse significant sums of money led to the airlifting of N1.219 billion cash to former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, for the gubernatorial election.
Fayose, currently facing trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), is implicated along with his firm, Spotless Investment Limited, in an alleged N6.9 billion money laundering case.
During the proceedings, prosecution counsel Wahab Shittu, SAN, prompted Obanikoro to explain the source of the N1.219 billion. The former minister responded that he was unaware of the money’s origin and only received information about it from the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col Sambo Dasuki (retd). Dasuki informed him that the funds had been deposited into the account of Sylvan Mcnamara Ltd.
Obanikoro clarified, “I can’t vouch for the source of the funds. Only the NSA can explain the source of the fund.”
He continued to narrate, “The money came from the NSA. I handed over the N1.219 million cash to Agbele for onward delivery to Fayose. I did not take any money or N19 million, contrary to a publication by a Lagos-based online platform.”
Addressing the establishment of Sylvan Mcnamara Ltd, Obanikoro stated, “The account was created to deal with the issue of Boko Haram in Lagos, created by Taiwo Kareem, and was used for disbursing funds for the election.”
When questioned about the funds’ purpose, Obanikoro affirmed, “It was meant for our election in Ekiti. It came from Diamond Bank. N1.219 billion was moved from Diamond Bank out of the N2.2 billion.”
He further detailed the logistics of the fund transfer, explaining, “Diamond Bank in Ado Ekiti said it lacked the capacity. We airlifted the funds from Lagos in two tranches because the aircraft could not accommodate the funds. We used two aircraft, and I was in one of the aircrafts.”
Justice Dimgba adjourned the matter to February 27, 2024, for the continuation of the trial.
