The Federal High Court in Lagos heard testimony from the 13th prosecution witness in the trial of former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, who is accused of N6.9 billion fraud and money laundering on Monday.
Abubakar Madaki, a former operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), testified before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke that Fayose did not personally conduct any of the financial transactions related to the charges.
Fayose and his company, Spotless Investment Ltd, face an 11-count charge brought by the EFCC. The proceedings were previously stalled on April 25, 2024, due to Justice Aneke’s absence on official assignment, and were resumed on July 1 for continuation.
During Monday’s session, prosecutor Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) called Madaki to the witness box for cross-examination. Under questioning from the second defense counsel, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), Madaki confirmed that there were no transactions personally made by Fayose relevant to the charges.
Ojo also asked if Madaki had witnessed any of the transactions. Madaki replied, “I only said it was in the course of investigation.”
Madaki affirmed that his investigation was based on facts provided by individuals involved in the transactions, as well as documents recovered during the investigation.
The defense counsel then asked about a person named “Erukaa” and whether a statement was taken from him. Madaki confirmed that a statement was obtained from Erukaa during the investigation. When asked if Erukaa was in Abuja on the same day another prosecution witness, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, claimed to be there, the prosecution objected, arguing that Madaki could not testify about the statement of a deceased person.
Regarding questions on whether Fayose acknowledged receiving any dollars from Obanikoro, Madaki said there was no document of any such acknowledgment.
Under further cross-examination by the first defense counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Ola Olanipekun, Madaki confirmed his earlier testimony that N4.6 billion was transferred by the then National Security Adviser (NSA) to Sivan Macnamara. Madaki explained that the transfer was made from the NSA’s impress account to Sivan Macnamara’s Diamond Bank account.
When Olanipekun asked why the funds were not directly transferred to Fayose if they were meant for him, Madaki replied, “Questions were asked and investigations showed that it was meant to disguise the source of the money; so, it was given by cash to avoid traces.”
Madaki also confirmed that the funds were not proceeds of drugs.
Justice Aneke adjourned the trial to July 19 for continuation.
