The ongoing trial of an ex-Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (retd.) led to a cashier at the Nigerian Air Force headquarters, Emmanuel Abu, on Wednesday narrating to a Federal High Court in Abuja, the role he played in the alleged monthly diversion of N558.2m from the Nigerian Air Force accounts. Abu, who was testifying as the second prosecution witness in Badeh’s ongoing trial, said he routinely converted the N558.2m to dollars which the prosecution alleged was being handed over to the former Air Force chief monthly. Recall the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is prosecuting Badeh alongside a firm, Iyalikam Nigeria Limited, on 10 counts of money laundering bordering on alleged fraudulent removal of about N3.97bn from the Nigerian Air Force’s account.
According to the NAF cashier, “The left over in the personnel and emolument account are transferred to five other accounts after paying salaries, because the balance of the salaries are meant for other purposes, and the personnel and emolument account is just for payment of salaries. After distributing the money into five accounts, the funds are used to augment the NAF overheads expenditure. We use them to pay estacode, non-regular allowances, training and operations, also purchase of aviation fuel. For the expenditure for the fund, we receive approvals from the headquarters of NAF, usually approved by the Chief of Air Staff, however, in November 2012, when the new Camp Finance Officer resumed, he informed me verbally that there was a standing instruction for the sum of N558,200,000 to be set aside monthly for headquarters, NAF training and operational purposes.
“He also informed me that the amount is to be converted to US dollars, except there is any other instruction to the contrary. I complied with the instruction and I converted the amount monthly, from November 2012 to December 2013, within the 14 months, a total of N7.8b plus was set aside, out of this, within the 14 months, I received, instruction to transfer a total sum of N410m to HAFCO Nigeria Limited and N875m plus to Right Builders Technologies.” Meanwhile under cross-examination by Badeh’s lawyer, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), Abu confirmed that he never received any instruction relating to the setting aside of the N558.2m and its conversion to dollars.
