Federal High Court, Lagos Thursday heard that Akwa Ibom Governor Udom Emmanuel spent N1.4 billion state funds to hire Senior Advocates of Nigeria who represented and secured him victory at the election tribunal in 2015.
At the resumed court proceeding, Abdulraman Arabo, an investigating officer of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), stated this at the court presided over by Justice Rilwan Aikawa at the trial of Mr. Paul Usoro, SAN, the immediate-past President of the Nigerian Bar Association, who is facing an amended six-count money laundering.
Arabo said the governor hired Usoro who, in turn, invited other SANs to join him, and that the N1.4 billion legal fee paid to the SANs was drawn from the treasury of the Akwa Ibom State’s account.
Also joined as defendants in the case are the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Finance, Nsikan Nkan; the state’s Accountant General, Mfon Udomah; the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Uwemedimo Nwoko; and Margaret Ukpe, the cashier at the Akwa Ibom State Government House.
At the proceeding, the prosecuting counsel for the EFCC, Usman Buhari, through the investigator, Rabo, tendered Usoro’s Access Bank account package as an exhibit before the judge.
The prosecution also tendered the statements made to the EFCC by the SANs, whom Usoro invited to join him to handle Emmanuel’s election petition. The court admitted the statements as exhibits.
Fielding questions from the prosecutor, the investigator said after being paid legal fee from the Akwa Ibom State treasury, Usoro gave N55 million to the state’s Attorney-General.
Under cross-examination, Usoro’s lawyer, Offiong Offiong (SAN), asked the investigator, “During your investigation, did you see that the money in issue was for legal fees of the service rendered to Governor Udom?”
Responding, the investigator said, “It is a payment made from government treasury for personal election tribunal pursuit of the governor.”
When Offiong pointed out to the investigator that his kick-back claim against Usoro was “scandalous,” the investigator responded, “My Lord, what I said in my evidence-in-chief was that this defendant (Usoro) lodged the sum of N55 million into the account of Akwa Ibom State Government Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Uwemedimo Nwoko.”
Justice Aikawa adjourned till January 18-20, 2021 for further proceedings.
