N714.6m fraud: EFCC presents two more witnesses against Turaki

Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu Turaki

Two witnesses of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on Tuesday, January 26, 2021, testified in the ongoing trial of Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, a former Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, his special assistant and two companies.

The witnesses, Erijitonah Good, a customer service manager at First City Monument Bank and Umar Abba Tilde, a compliance officer from Zenith Bank testified as PW 10 and P11 respectively.

Led in evidence by Farouk Abdullah, Good who brought documents relating to inflows and expenditure pertaining to some accounts told the court that “sometime in November 2019 we got a mail from EFCC requesting for account opening package, account statement of some customers in the bank which we complied with and forwarded to the EFCC”.

The document entitled ‘re-investigation activities’ alongside the account opening package and account statement were tendered and admitted in evidence.

During cross-examination, Good told the court that he does not know the source or purpose of payment in the account.

The second witness Tilde, in his testimony, disclosed that “sometimes last year, there was a letter from EFCC requesting for some documents regarding some of our customers and as custodian of the documents, we complied with and submitted account opening package of one Abdullahi Bagudu, account statements, and BVN links to the EFCC”

The documents were also tendered and admitted as exhibits.

The trial has been adjourned to January 27, 2021, for continuation of trial.

Turaki, his special assistant Sampson Okpetu and two companies: Samtee Essentials Limited and Pasco Investment Limited in 2020 are standing trial before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court Abuja on a 16 count charge of fraud to the tune of N714,670,014.87 (Seven Hundred and Fourteen Million Six Hundred and Seventy Thousand and Fourteen Naira).