- A witness, Sambo Maina, gives details of how Andrew Yakubu hid large sums of foreign currencies
- Sambo Maina, an EFCC operative, makes the revelation in court
- Justice Ahmed adjourns the case to July 3, 2018, for continuation of trial
A prosecution witness in the case of money laundering and false declaration of assets involving a former Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Andrew Yakubu, concealed $9,772,800 found in his apartment.
Sambo Maina, the witness spoke on Thursday, May 10, in the EFCC asset declaration form.
Maina, an operative of the EFCC, stated this while testifying as the fourth prosecution witness before Justice AR Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
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The EFCC says he also told the court that the former NNPC boss also failed to declare the sum of £74,000 found in his building to the EFCC in the said form.
A statement by the EFCC shows that while narrating how EFCC came about the ‘declaration form’, Sambo said: “We commenced investigation into two categories of NNPC contract. The contracts were awarded by NNPC and its subsidiaries.
“The first category of the contract relates to strategic alliance agreement between the NNPC, its subsidiaries NPDC (Nigerian Petroleum Development Company) and Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept Ltd.
“The first strategic alliance agreement was on oil mining lease 26/30/34/40/42 and the second contract was on oil mining lease 60/61/62/63.”
He added that the investigation was sequel to intelligence report received by the EFCC relating to suspicious fund transfers from the Nigerian account of Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept to its sister company in Switzerland called Atlantic Energy Holdings, including additional transfers from Atlantic Energy Brass Development Ltd to Atlantic Energy Holdings.
“It was on the basis of this suspicious transaction that investigation commenced. In the course of our investigation, we found it necessary to seek clarifications from Engineer Andrew Yakubu and he was invited to EFCC,” Maina said adding that while interacting with the defendant, EFCC found out that the two strategic alliance agreements were executed between 2011 and April 2014 when Yakubu was the GMD.
The PW4 further stated that after the defendant volunteered his statement he also declared his assets to the EFCC sometimes between June and August, 2015.
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The witness told the court that the declaration form given to the defendant to fill and declare his assets was based on the allegation that the company, Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept Ltd, was allowed to lift crude oil worth over a billion dollars without carrying out the necessary obligation on their part upon which some officials of the NNPC were charged to court.
The asset declaration form was tendered and admitted as ‘Exhibit I’.
Justice Ahmed adjourned to July 3, 2018, for continuation of trial.
NAIJ.com earlier reported that the source who exposed Andrew Yakubu said that more safes are yet to be recovered.
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Source: Naija.ng
