N9.7bn NAF Fraud: I Take Orders from My Principal – Dikko's Finance Director
N9.7bn NAF Fraud: I Take Orders from
My Principal – Dikko's Finance Director
The trial of a former Chief of Air
Staff, Air Marshal Umar Dikko, continued on Thursday, October 19, 2017, before
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja with
the cross-examination of the first witness, Commodore S.A. Yusahau (rtd), by
the defense.
The trial of a former Chief of Air
Staff, Air Marshal Umar Dikko, continued on Thursday, October 19, 2017, before
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja with
the cross-examination of the first witness, Commodore S.A. Yusahau (rtd), by
the defense.
Dikko, who served as the Chief of Air
Staff, Nigerian Air Force between September 2010 and 2012, is facing a 7-count
charge of money laundering and procurement fraud to the tune of N9.7billion
preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Yushau, whose evidence started on
February 13, 2017, had earlier testified to the effect that he was appointed as
the Director of Finance and Accounting, DFA, by the defendant (Dikko), a
position that put him in charge of all the financial roles.
In his testimony, Yushau stated that
he received monies of the Nigerian Air Force and disbursed same as authorized
by Dikko. He added that the Nigerian Air Force received its funds to the tune
of N4 billion monthly.
Yushau, while being cross-examined by
Dikko’s counsel, Hassan Liman, SAN, further insisted that he acted solely
on the instructions from his boss (Dikko) with respect to the release of funds.
"I acted solely on instructions
from my boss and all records of monies spent under his watch can be found in
the Nigeria Air Force,” he said.
When asked to state the exact amount
spent on fuelling and maintenance of the aircraft as well as the comprehensive
schools purportedly built in Kano and Yola, Yushau stated that “I don’t have
the record of what was spent on the maintenance of the aircrafts as well as the
conference center and the comprehensive schools.”
According to him, “the schools were
built during Badeh’s regime, while the conference center which started during
Dikko’s regime was completed during Badeh’s tenure."
On whether the NAF Accounts were
audited yearly and whether auditors had ever raised alarm on the way monies
were spent and managed in the NAF, Yushau narrated how some issues were raised
by auditors during the audit time.
“Issues were raised and addressed,”
he said.
According to the witness, all the
units were audited separately. He added that it was as a result of the
different queries raised by the auditors that the NAF officials had to visit
the National Assembly.
At this point, Justice Dimgba
adjourned to December 6 – 7, 2017 for the continuation of the trial.
Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media, and Publicity
