An officer of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Kazeem Yusuf, testified in a Federal Capital Territory high court that an alleged diversion of N4,600,000,000 was used to organize prayers for Nigeria.
The testimony came during the trial of Bashir Yuguda, a former minister of state for finance, who is facing charges alongside Sambo Dasuki, former national security adviser (NSA), Attahiru Bafarawa (ex-governor of Sokoto), his son Sagir, and Dalhatu Investment Limited.
The defendants are facing charges of misappropriation, criminal breach of trust, and receiving stolen property.
Yusuf, the second prosecution witness, stated that an investigation was initiated based on a petition from the office of the national security adviser (ONSA).
He revealed that Dalhatu Investment Limited, one of the implicated companies, received N4.6 billion without any evidence of bidding for contracts.
The witness explained that Sagir, representing the company, claimed the money was intended for prayers due to prevailing insecurity at the time.
He said, “The N4.6 billion ONSA fund was meant to organize prayers for the country because of the insecurity prevalent at that time.”
Yusuf explained how the money was spent, including payments to beneficiaries such as former senator Abdallah Wali, who received funds for a gubernatorial election campaign, and Muazu Madawaki, former secretary of the Pilgrims and Welfare Agency (PWA) in Sokoto, who claimed the money was for Hajj seat payments.
The witness also highlighted the diversion of funds meant for security equipment procurement to purchase vehicles and support political campaigns.
During the trial, defense counsel objected to the admissibility of statements made by Sagir, arguing that they were not obtained voluntarily.
However, the judge ordered a trial-within-trial to assess the voluntariness of Sagir’s statements, adjourning the trial until February 14.