The N2.2bn fraud trial of a former Governor of Ekiti State, Mr Ayodele Fayose, and a firm, Spotless Investment Limited, will resume today before the Federal High Court in Lagos.
Justice C. J. Aneke adjourned the matter till today after an official of First Bank testified as the 9th prosecution witness yesterday.
Led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), the witness, Taiwo Ogundein, pointed out to the judge from bank documents, inflows and outflows of huge sums of money from the First Bank account of a firm, Still Earth Limited.
One of the EFCC’s claims against Fayose was that he purchased a N200m Abuja property from Skye Bank in the name of “his elder sister, Mrs Moji Oladeji.”
An ex-Skye Bank official, Olugbenga Falai, had in March told the court that the N200m payment for the property was made to Skye Bank “from a Zenith Bank account named Still Earth Limited.”
Mr. Ogundein, who said he manages Still Earth Limited’s account with First Bank, told the judge that the one Hoff Concepts Limited credited the account with N40m on January 29, 2015; while De Privateers Limited paid in N39.5m on January 30, 2015.
Ogundein said on the same January 30, 2015, N70.7m was transferred from Still Earth Limited’s account to one Capital Field Investment and Trust Limited; while Still Earth account, in turn, received N132m credit from Samchase Ltd.
“On February 11, 2015, there was an inflow of N200m from De Privateers Limited, while on May 13, 2016, there was an inflow of N47m from the same Se Privateers,” the witness added.
Under cross-examination by the defence counsels, Messrs Ola Olanipekun (SAN) and Olalekan Ojo (SAN), Ogundein affirmed that neither Fayose nor Spotless Investment Limited featured in the transactions.
The witness, however, said he could not confirm whether First Bank considered the transactions of Still Earth’s legal or suspicious.
