DETAINED
former Minister of State (Defence) Musiliu Obanikoro yesterday made more
revelations on how the N4.745billion wired to a company linked to him
by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) was shared.
The money comprised N4.685billon
transferred to Sylva McNamara Limited and N60million ($5.77m) cash
personally given to Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose by the ex-Minister.
Fayose issued a statement yesterday,
saying Obanikoro’s return from overseas was planned to nail him. He did
not deny receiving money from the former minister.
Obanikoro told Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC) detectives that N3.880billion was allocated to
Fayose and Sen. Iyiola Omisore out of the cash.
He also said he handed over $5.377m cash
to Fayose at Spotless Hotel, Ado-Ekiti in the presence of the former
Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Dr. Tope
Aluko, and other party stalwarts.He reportedly demonstrated how Fayose collected the cash and put it “in the room next to where we were seated”.
The ex-minister, who made the
disclosures during another round of grilling, said there were heaps of
bank transfers to buttress his statement.
He said: “Out of N4.685billon
transferred to Sylva McNamara Limited, N3.880billion was transferred to
both Ayodele Fayose and Senator Omisore through cash and bank transfers.
“The dollars contents were handed over
to Fayose personally by me in the presence of some party leaders and he
collected it and took it to the room next to where we were all seated.
“The location where I gave the dollars
to him is called Spotless Hotel, Ado-Ekiti. One of the party leaders
that was present is Dr. Tope Aluko, who was then the secretary of our
party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“I transferred N1.7 billion to Omisore.
The money was paid into his account and companies nominated by him. He
gave the list of companies for the transfer of the N1.7billion that was
released by the NSA to him.
“The funds were therefore transferred as
prescribed by Omisore in full. That is to the account of the companies
he provided. Details can be obtained from the bank that transferred the
money.
“I, Musiliu Obanikoro, did not buy or
sell any landed property from Sen. Omisore. The National Security
Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd) did not disclose to me what the funds
were meant for and neither did I ask or I did not know the source of the
funds.”
The former Minister however claimed that the balance of N785milion was used to wage war against Boko Haram in Lagos.
He added: “The balance of N785milion was
used to prosecute the following: 1. procurement of souvenirs for the
promotion of anti-Boko Haram insurgency in Lagos; 2. N200million for
surveillance activities; 3. N200million and other remaining funds were
for operations managed by Taiwo Kareem.
“Taiwo Kareem impressed the former NSA
with his management of pre and post-election funds. To God be the glory,
the two elections were carried out without any loss of life
“When bomb blast occurred in Lagos on
the 25th of June 2014, the NSA was disturbed and told me of his
commitment to ensure that such doesn’t reoccur.
“He expressed the grave consequence that
the reoccurrence will have not only on Lagos but the economy of the
entire country. He emphasized the need for local input to complement the
activities of security agencies. This is how Sylvan McNamara was
introduced.”
The EFCC obtained yesterday a court warrant to detain Obanikoro.
The anti-graft agency has also seized his passport to restrict his movement to the country.
A source said: “We have a valid warrant
from the court to detain the ex-minister pending the conclusion of his
interrogation by our team. He has a lot to tell us and we are keeping
him in safe custody with comfort to enable him respond to the issues we
have isolated for him.
“We have also seized his passport to restrict his movement to the country pending the conclusion of the ongoing probe.”
Aluko is believed to have made a statement to the EFCC.
Aluko had last year claimed that Obanikoro and Fayose clashed when the money ferried to Akure Airport was short of N80million.
He said: “The Presidency gave us
security and money; the money was sent from a Diamond Bank branch
through an account run by Sylvan MacNamara, a company owned by
Obanikoro.
“My boss (Fayose) said he wanted to get
his own in cash and that was why such a huge amount was ferried by
plane. Obanikoro cannot claim not to have brought the money.
“He (Fayose) chose his man, Abiodun
Agbele, to keep the money in a bank account. The transaction was not
recorded and it got to a stage when it was discovered that the money was
short by N80 million.
“This caused a crisis between Fayose and
Obanikoro, who brought the money. He (Obanikoro) brought other things,
apart from money, which I won’t disclose now..
”The cash carried in the plane was not
entered into the manifest. It was delivered to a bank at 4.30 am in
Ekiti. The remaining from the cash received for the election was used to
buy a house in Abuja and the house belongs to Fayose.”
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