Obanikoro returns N30m to EFCC, to return remaining N450m from Dasukigate in 2017
Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, a former Minister of State for Defence, has returned an additional N30m from the money he received in Dasukigate to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, bringing the total amount of money he has returned to the Commission to N134m.
The ex-minister who is facing charges of fraud, for allegedly receiving N4.7bn from the Office of the National Security Adviser under the leadership of Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), returned N104m to the commission in October.
EFCC had asked Obanikoro to return about N584m out of the sum he received.
A source at the EFCC told PUNCH, “Obanikoro came on Monday and presented a draft of about N30m. Initially we did not want to collect it because it is small compared to what he is supposed to have given us. However, the legal department advised us to collect it.”
The ex-minister, who returned to Nigeria last month after spending about 15 months in the United States, had said in his statement of oath at the EFCC that after receiving the money in 2014, he gave N1.219bn to the then governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, while N1.3bn was given to the PDP candidate in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore.
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Obanikoro who was said to have kept about N785m from the money for himself, had also earlier confessed to giving Fayose a separate $5.377m at Spotless Hotel in Ekiti State in the presence of party leaders including the then PDP Secretary, Mr. Tope Aluko.
He allegedly spent the money while campaigning for the PDP governorship ticket in its primary election in Lagos State, a ticket which Mr. Jimi Agbaje won.
At the EFCC office on Monday, Obanikoro promised the detectives that he would return the remaining N450m in 2017.
“About N450m is remaining and Obanikoro has promised to pay the rest in 2017. He will also be reporting at our office every two weeks,” the source said.
Last week, Mr. Alade Sunday, a manager at Zenith Bank, narrated how Obanikoro delivered about N1.219bn to Fayose’s aide, Abiodun Agbele, for onward transmission to his boss.
He had also said it took the cashiers about 10 days to count the money.
Meanwhile, EFCC has declined to grant Omisore his request that his passport be returned to enable him to travel out of the country.
“We cannot return his passport to him now because he has not yet returned half of the money. He has returned only N350m out of N1.3bn. When he returns half, then the EFCC can consider returning the passport to him,” a source at the commission said.
