‘How I delivered $15.8m cash to Suswam in Abuja’ – Witness tells court in alleged N3.1bn fraud case

A key witness in the trial of former Benue State governor Gabriel Suswam has testified before the Federal High Court in Abuja, detailing how he allegedly delivered $15.8 million in cash to the ex-governor at his residence in 2014.

Abubakar Umar, the sixth prosecution witness (PW6) and CEO of Fanffash Resources, provided his testimony during the proceedings before Justice Peter Lifu.

He disclosed that Suswam had instructed him to convert N3.1 billion into dollars, which was wired to him in tranches through a proxy, ultimately amounting to $15.8 million.

Umar recounted how he delivered the cash to Suswam at his Maitama residence in Abuja. Suswam and his former Commissioner of Finance, Omodachi Okolobia, are currently facing 11 amended charges of money laundering, involving N3.1 billion.

The funds in question are alleged to be part of the proceeds from the sale of Benue State government shares, managed by the Benue Investment and Property Company Limited, and sold through Elixir Securities Limited and Elixir Investment Partners Limited.

During his court testimony, Umar elaborated on the process of the money transfer, noting that the first payment of N413 million was credited to his Zenith Bank account on August 8, 2014, with subsequent payments totaling N3.1 billion.

He clarified that a woman acted on Suswam’s behalf to facilitate these transfers.

“On the 8th of August 2014, N413 million was transferred to my account. Based on this, I called the former governor and he told me to change the money to dollars. After I bought the dollar equivalent, I delivered it to his house in Maitama,” Umar told the court.

The witness further explained that between September and October 2014, several other transfers were made to his account, including N637 million, N363 million, N630 million, and N1.068 billion, all of which he converted to dollars and handed over to Suswam.

Umar stated that while he did not keep receipts or records of the transactions, he procured the dollars from his network of fellow retailers and made deliveries to Suswam at his discretion.

Justice Lifu adjourned the trial until October 4, 2024, for continuation of the hearing.