Alhaji Babangida Aliyu, Former governor of Niger state, was at the
Federal High Court, sitting in Minna on Monday with Umar Nasko, his
chief of staff over an alleged N2 billion fraud.
The case is being tried before Justice Yalim S Bogoro. Bogoro adjourned the case to February 20, 2018 after the court heard the arguments of the prosecution and defence counsels.
Aliyu is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) alongside his chief of staff, Umar Nasko, on an
8-count charge of abuse of office and money laundering to the tune of N2
billion.
A statement by the EFCC said: “the money, which was said to be part
of ecological funds released by the federal government to the state in
2014, was allegedly diverted by the former governor for political
purposes.”
The offence, the statement said, is contrary to section 18 (a) of the
Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable
under section 15 (3) of the same act.
The defence counsels under the claim that they could not understand
the statement made by PW1, Saidu Nma-Aba Idris, before the EFCC. Nasko’s
counsel, Mamman Mike Osuman, said that he could not decipher the
statement of the PW1, a position which Aliyu’s counsel, Olajide Ayodele,
also aligned himself with.
Osuman reportedly said: “My lord, this gentleman’s purported
statement before the EFCC is contained on a page within the ambit of
proof of evidence.
“We are not able to decipher this statement. We can’t read it; we
can’t understand it and a criminal matter is not supposed to be an
ambush.”
In his response, the counsel to the EFCC, Ben S Ikani, vehemently
opposed the submissions of the two colleagues arguing: “The PW1 is the
primary evidence as required by law, and his statement was served on the
defence, six months ago.