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Alleged N4.7bn fraud: Oyo Director testifies against Ladoja
A Director in the Oyo State Civil Service, Mr. Yinka Fatoki, on Tuesday testified for the prosecution in the ongoing trial of N4.7bn money laundering charge against a former governor of Oyo State, Rasheed Ladoja.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is prosecuting Ladoja and a former Commissioner for Finance, Waheed Akanbi.
Ladoja and Akanbi had, on December 14, 2016, pleaded not guilty to an eight-count charge bordering on money laundering before Justice Mohammed Idris of a Federal High Court, Lagos, and were granted bails.
The EFCC prosecutor, Mr. Oluwafemi Olabisi, was present in court; while Mr. Bolaji Onilenla and Mr. Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika represented Ladoja and Akanbi respectively.
At the resumed trial on Tuesday, the prosecution witness, Fatoki, told the court he was the Executive Secretary of the Bureau of Investment and Public Private Partnership in Oyo State.
Olabisi: Where were you in 2007?
Witness: As at 2007, I was an acting Director of Investment Promotion in the Ministry of Commerce, Oyo State; and as at that time, the desk officer in charge of state government investment holdings of public quoted securities.
Olabisi: Do you know Fountain Securities Ltd ?
Witness: Fountain Securities Ltd was the appointed portfolio manager for the sale of the Oyo State Government shares in 2007.
We gave a mandate for them to sell the shares, there was no pricing on the mandate, but that they should sell in line with best practices and within a time frame.
When Fountain Securities reported that the shares were sold at a discounted rate, Oyo State Government enlisted GTI Capital Ltd to investigate.
A petition was written by the state executive council to EFCC upon receipt of the investigation report, I was also named in the petition.
During cross-examination, counsel to the first defendant, Mr. Bolaji Onilenla, asked the witness if he was aware of any meeting with the stock brokers to finalise the sale of the shares.
The witness told the court that he had no such knowledge of any meeting.
Onilenla: Are you aware that the state government had an investigation into the sale of the shares?
Witness: The report GTI Capital Ltd sent to the state government after their investigation confirmed that the sales of the shares were done in line with market rules and practices.
In his cross-examination, Olumide-Fusika asked: Did you receive any payment from Fountain Securities?
Witness: I received payment from Fountain Securities Ltd, but it was not payment for the sale of the shares but for the dividends collected on them.
Fatoki further told the court that he gave the money to the commissioner who further disbursed it.
Olumide-Fusika: How was the payment made?
Witness: Payment was made in tranches and not in lump sum.
At the close of cross-examination, Olabisi told the court that the prosecutions’ next witness resides in Ibadan, and that he would need a few days to produce him.
He urged the court to vacate Wednesday’s earlier set-down date and grant the prosecution a further date to produce other witnesses.
Justice Mohammed Idris adjourned the case until April 12 and 13 for continuation of trial.
The defendants are alleged to have conspired, siphoned and laundered N4.7bn from the coffers of Oyo State.
EFCC is also accusing the defendants of converting N1.9bn belonging to the state to personal use, using the account of a company — Heritage Apartments Ltd — to commit the crime.
It claimed that they retained the money sometime in 2007 in spite of their knowledge that it was proceeds from a criminal activity.
Ladoja was accused of removing 600,000 pounds sterling from the state coffers in 2007, which he allegedly sent to Bimpe Ladoja, his daughter, who was in London at the time.
In addition, the ex-governor was also accused of converting N42m belonging to the state to his personal use and subsequently used same to purchase an armoured Land Cruiser jeep.
Ladoja also allegedly converted N728m and another N77m at different times in 2007 to his personal use and transferred the money to Bistrum Investments to purchase a property in Ibadan on his behalf.
The offences contravened sections 14, 16, 17 (a) and 18 (1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004. (NAN)
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The headquarters of Heritage Bank at Victoria Island, Lagos, was besieged on Thursday by members of the labour union, protesting the recent dismissal of 1,000 support workers.
The National President of the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees, Comrade Anthony Abakpa, led the demonstration, condemning the bank’s management for what he deemed a lack of adherence to due process in the termination of employment contracts.
Speaking during the protest, Comrade Abakpa asserted that the leadership of Heritage Bank failed to follow established protocols before executing the mass layoffs.
He emphasised the union’s commitment to pursuing justice for the affected workers, vowing to escalate their demands until the bank’s management rectifies the situation.
“We will intensify our demands for justice,” declared Comrade Abakpa, urging the bank’s management to take corrective action to address the grievances of the dismissed workers.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, clarified that Nigeria is not utilising its foreign reserves to bolster the naira, despite recent fluctuations in reserve levels.
Speaking from Washington DC, where he is attending the International Monetary Fund-World Bank Spring Meetings, Cardoso highlighted the influx of $600 million into Nigeria’s reserves account within the past two days.
While the naira has experienced a notable appreciation against the dollar in recent weeks, climbing over 40% from approximately N1,900/$ to about N1,000/$1, Nigeria’s foreign reserves have been dwindling. As of April 15, reserves dropped to approximately $32.29 billion, marking the lowest level in over six years.
Cardoso emphasised that the shifts in reserves are typical for any country, where various financial obligations, such as debt repayments, necessitate withdrawals.
He stated, “What you’ve seen with respect to the shift in our reserves is normal in any country’s reserves where, for example, debts are due and certain payments need to be made. They are made because that is also part of keeping your credibility.”
Continuing, Cardoso underscored the dynamic nature of the market, advocating for a system driven by willing buyers, willing sellers, and price discovery.
He emphasised, “The shift in our reserves has really little or nothing to do with defending the naira, and that is certainly not our objective.”
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has made headlines by announcing a further reduction in the price of diesel, dropping it from ₦1200 to ₦1000 naira per litre.
The refinery’s decision comes on the heels of its recent supply at a significantly reduced price of ₦1200 per litre, which was introduced three weeks ago, signifying a remarkable 30 per cent decrease from the previous market price of approximately ₦1600 per litre.
This substantial reduction in diesel prices at Dangote Petroleum Refinery is expected to reiterate positively throughout various sectors of the economy, potentially serving as a catalyst in alleviating the persistently high inflation rate in the country.
In a statement last week, Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest individual and the owner of the refinery, expressed his optimism regarding the potential impact of the price reduction on inflation in Nigeria.
“I believe that we are on the right track. I believe Nigerians have been patient, and I also believe that a lot of goodies will now come through. There’s quite a lot of improvement because if you look at it, one of the major issues that we’ve had was the naira devaluation that has gone very aggressively up to about ₦1900,” he remarked.
As anticipation builds around the implications of this move by Dangote Petroleum Refinery, stakeholders and consumers alike remain hopeful for the positive effects it could bring to the Nigerian economy in the coming months.
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