Alleged N4.6bn Arms Fraud: EFCC Witness Details How ONSA Security Funds Were Diverted

An operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Kazeem Yusuf, on Tuesday told the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that N4.6 billion released by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) for the procurement of security equipment was instead diverted to fund a range of non-security activities, including pilgrimage sponsorships, the 2015 PDP presidential campaign, and political rallies.

Yusuf, the second prosecution witness (PW2), gave the testimony before Justice Yusuf Halilu at the resumed trial of former Minister of State for Finance, Ambassador Bashir Yuguda; former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd); former Sokoto State governor, Attahiru Bafarawa; his son, Sagir Attahiru; and Dalhatu Investment Limited, a company owned by the Bafarawas.

The defendants are standing trial on a 25-count amended charge bordering on misappropriation, criminal breach of trust and receiving stolen property.

Led in evidence by prosecuting counsel Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), Yusuf said investigations showed that although ONSA awarded several contracts for the supply of security equipment, none of the contracts was executed.

“Investigation revealed that the contracts were for the supply of security equipment, and responses from the Office of the National Security Adviser confirmed this. However, further investigation showed that the N4.6 billion released was not used for the intended purpose; it was diverted to other uses,” he said.

He added that a letter from ONSA also confirmed that the contracts were never carried out.

Yusuf told the court that during the investigation, Sagir Bafarawa (the fourth defendant) submitted a list of expenditures to the EFCC, detailing how the funds were spent.

According to him, the list included payments for pilgrimage to Makkah, organisation of PDP rallies, funding election monitoring by security agencies, the 2015 presidential election, and other political activities.

Reading from bank statements from UBA and GTBank, already tendered in evidence, the witness identified several beneficiaries of the diverted funds. These included the Sheikh AbdurRahman Al-Sudais Foundation—chaired by former governor Bafarawa—which received N500 million, and Abdallah Wali, the 2015 PDP governorship candidate in Sokoto State, who reportedly received N580 million through a company for election-related expenses.

Following Yusuf’s testimony, Justice Halilu adjourned proceedings to December 9 and 10 for the defence counsel to commence cross-examination of the witness.