We Airlifted N1.219b To Ekiti For Fayose In Two Tranches, Obanikoro Tells Court

A former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, on Wednesday, told the court why they airlifted N1.219 billion to former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose for the governorship election in the state.

Fayose is facing trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, alongside his firm, Spotless Investment Limited, following their alleged involvement in N6.9 billion money laundering.

During the court sitting on Wednesday presided by Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court, Abuja, Obanikoro blamed the inability of a defunct commercial bank (Diamond Bank) to disburse huge sums of money, hence the need for them to airlift N1.219 billion cash to Fayose.

Speaking about the source of the said N1.219 billion, Obanikoro said he didn’t know, but that he only got the information on the money from the former National Security Adviser, NSA, Col Sambo Dasuki (retd).

He explained that it was the former NSA that contacted him that the said money had been paid into the account of Sylvan Mcnamara Ltd.

“I was a minister under the Jonathan administration in 2014. Sometime in 2014, we were going to have an election in Ekiti State. I was saddled with the responsibility of coordinating the activities in the election.

“Some days before the election, I got a call from Governor Fayose asking me if I received any message for him from ONSA, I can recall that prior to that, we had some activities among which was fund raising for the purpose of that election.

“When Mr. Fayose called, I told him I would call him later. I had a phone conversation with the NSA, and was told he would get back to me. After, he got back to me that N2.2 million was paid into the account of Sylvan Mcnamara Ltd,” Obanikoro explained to the court.

He however added that: “The money came from the NSA. I can’t vouch for the source of the funds. Only the NSA can explain the source of the fund.

“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.”

Speaking about his relationship with Sylvan Mcnamara Ltd, the former minister stated that “the account was created to deal with the issue of Boko Haram in Lagos.

He said: “I put a call through to let Fayose know that the money had been paid. Diamond Bank had said it did not have the capacity to make the funds available, so we opted to airlift the funds. The funds were airlifted from Lagos in two tranches, the volume was much.

“Myself, my ADC and my security orderly were there, including a top aide of Fayose to meet Mr. Agbele, the bank manager. I instructed my orderly to escort Mr Agbele and ensure the safe delivery of the money.”

When Shittu asked him about the source and what the funds were meant for, Obanikoro stated that “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.”

Obanikoro further informed the court that 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,” he said.

Justice Dimgba thereafter adjourned the matter to February 27, 2024 for continuation of trial.