How Oronsaye diverted N190m into secret account, by witness

A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of a former Head of Service of the Federation and former Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Financial Action Task Force, Stephen Orosanye, on Wednesday, told an Abuja High Court how the defendant opened a secret account in the name of the task force to divert about N190 million belonging to the Federal Government.
The witness, who is an employee of Access Bank Plc, Olubunmi Ojoko, led in evidence by the EFCC’s lead prosecuting counsel, Ufom Uket, told the court that Orosanye opened the Access Bank account on behalf of PCFATF in 2012, without obtaining an approval from the Accountant-General of the Federation.
“He (Oronsaye) called me that he needed to open an account on behalf of the Presidential Committee on Financial Action Task Force.
“I met him at his residence in Asokoro, where I handed him the documents for the account, including the Access Bank account opening request of the committee signed by him, his passport photograph, copy of his passport and documents that set up the committee by the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
“I scrutinised the documents and discovered that the Accountant-General of the Federation’s approval was not included. So I asked him for it and he said it was not necessary. I asked for the Accountant-General of the Federation’s approval because it is needed when opening a government account. Since he said that it wasn’t necessary, I took him by his word.
“I took the documents to the bank and the account was opened”, she stated.
She further told the court that she never met any other member of the committee, including Mr. Jalal Arabi, a counsel in the presidential Villa, who served as the secretary to the committee, throughout the period the account was operated.
She added that there were a total of four lodgements into the account from the CBN and other cash deposits, adding that the lodgments totalled N285 million, part of which were invested in fixed deposits with part of the interests that accrued re-invested.
Ojoko further stated that as of the time the account was closed, Oronsaye had withdrawn from the account about N150m which was partly the accrued interests on the investments, through cheques which he allegedly issued in favour of himself and various beneficiaries.
While narrating cash inflow into the account, The witness said, “the first transfer was N50m in October 2012. The second was in April 2012 was N90m from the CBN. In May 2013, there was another cash lodgment of N45m . The fourth lodgment of N100m came in December 2014 from CBN.
“After the first lodgment (of N50m from CBN) several cheques were drawn by the defendant (Oronsaye). In favour various beneficiaries.
“The second inflow of N90m was invested in fixed deposit account. It was fixed in Banker’s Acceptance which is a form of investment, for 90 days at 9 per cent. On maturity, the N45m (the third inflow) had come and it was fixed for 90 days.
“Upon maturity, they (the investments) were usually rolled over on the instruction of Mr. Stephen Oronsaye and the interest were credited into his current account.
“The N100m (the fourth inflow) came in December 2014 and it was placed in fixed in Banker’s Acceptance for 90 days.
“The total of investments and roll overs were about 28. About N150m interests accrued on all the investments.
“Now the account is at zero balance after the N163.5m in it was transferred to the Treasury Single Account.”