Akin Kuponiyi
A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of former Oyo State Governor, Alhaji Rashidi Ladoja, and his Commissioner for Finance, Waheed Akanbi, Mr. Waheed Atanda, on Wednesday told a Federal High Court stting in Lagos that the former Oyo State Governor, Mr. Rashidi Ladoja, received the sum of N1.9 billion without going through any financial institutions.
This is as Federal High Court presided over by Justice Mohammed Idris summoned the Oyo State’s Attorney-General, and one Yinka Fatoki of Oyo State Ministry of Commerce and Industry, to appear before it on Thursday for the purpose of tendering some vital documents in the ongoing trial.
The court had earlier summoned the duo to tender the documents.
However, when the matter came up on Wednesday, lawyer to Ladoja complained that the two government officials have refused to respond to the summons of the court served on them.
Justice Idris frowned at the attitude of the government officials, querrying why they should ignore subpoena served on them to appear before the court.
He therefore reaffirmed his earlier order that the duo should be in court to tender the documents.
The EFCC witness while being cross-examined by Onilenla, informed the court that two Landcruiser (one armoured and one ordinary) he bought for the Oyo State government during Ladoja’s regime, was at the instance of the former governor.
He also stated that due to the petitions to the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) and EFCC, funds used to procure the two vehicles were paid back to him, but the drafts were made payable to the EFCC.
He also insisted that he got a facility of N80 million from Wema Bank Plc, which was paid to V. T. Leasing Limited, to purchase the 20 vehicles for the State lawmakers during Ladoja’s impeachment saga.
On how Oyo State government’s shares were disposed off, the witness stated that a meeting was held in April 2007, where how to dispose the share was discussed.
Present at the meeting according to the witness are: Commissioner for Commerce and Industry; Commissioner for Finance (the second defendant); Biodun Kola Daisi, managing director of Fountain Trust Security Limited (the Oyo State government official broker), Mr. Greg Usu of Mc Lay Trust Limited, and Bola Balogun of City Trust Limited.
He stated that the the broking firms were asked to make offers on the stocks that were put up for sale, and that their recommendations were made known to Ladoja.
On the N350 million paid to the group of lawyers that handled Ladoja’s court cases from the State High Court to Supreme Court, the witness stated that the initial fee was N35 million, but midway to the case, the lawyers approached them and said the money had to be increased to N350 million, as they will be heading to Supreme Court.
He stated that he personally contributed N35 million, but did not know what Senator Ladoja contributed.
He added that his law firm, under the name Ade Atanda & CO., was paid the sum of N94 million when Ladoja was restored to office.
The matter has been adjourned till Thursday, for continuation of cross-examination of the witness.
Ladoja alongside his Commissioner for Finance, Akanbi, are standing trial before Justice Mohammed Idris court on eight counts of money laundering.
They were accused of conspiring among themselves to siphon the sum of N4.7 billion from the coffers of the state and launder same.
In one instance, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, who is prosecuting them, accused them of converting a sum of N1, 932, 940, 032. 48 belonging to Oyo State to their personal own, using a Guaranty Trust Bank account of a company, Heritage Apartments Limited.
The EFCC claimed that they retained the money sometime in 2007, despite their knowledge that it was proceeds of a criminal conduct.
In another instance, Ladoja was accused of removing a sum of £600,000 from the state coffers in 2007 and sent it to Bimpe Ladoja, who was at the time in London.
The ex-governor was also accused of converting a sum of N42m belonging to the state to his own and subsequently used it to purchase an armoured Land Cruiser Jeep.
He was also accused of converting a sum of N728, 600, 000 and another N77, 850, 000, at separate times in 2007 to his own.
The EFCC claimed that Ladoja transferred the N77, 850,000 to one Bistrum Investments, which he nominated to help him purchase a property named Quarter 361, Ibadan, Oyo State.
The EFCC told the court that Ladoja and Akanbi acted contrary to sections 17(a) and18 (1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004 and were liable to be punished under sections 14(1), 16(a) (b) and 18(2) of the same Act.