Bank Admits Adoke’s $2.2m Was for Loan
Repayment
The Unity Bank Plc admitted on Thursday that the $2.2 million
received from former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and
Minister of Justice, Mr Bello Adoke SAN, was for repayment of a
N300M naira he obtained from the bank.
Former Acting Managing Director of he bank Mr Rislanudeen
Mohammed made the confirmation at the federal high court in Abuja
during the ongoing trial of Adoke and a oil magnate Alhaji Aliyu
Abubakar on alleged corruption changes.
This is coming as trial judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo, warned
reporters to stop linking the trial with Malabu Oil issue, adding
that they have access to court records and should ask if they need
clarification.
Adoke and the businessman, Abubakar are standing trial on a 14
count amended criminal charge bordering on alleged money laundering
and corruption preferred against them by the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Mohammed, a second witness of the EFCC in his evidence told the
court how Adoke obtained a loan of N300M from the bank and the
efforts he made to ensure Adoke repay the loan.
He said that the loan was finally liquidated when Adoke handed
over to him a sum of $2.2 million and that when converted to naira,
it exceeded the principal loan amount.
The EFCC witness further disclosed that the former AGF collected
the balance and closed the account after the bank deducted all
necessary interest regarding the transaction.
Under cross examination by Adoke’s lawyer, Chief Kanu Agabi SAN,
the witness admitted accepting $2.2 million dollars on behalf of
the bank to liquidate the loan.
He further stated that the $2.2 million was not a proceed of
crime because it was in repayment of a loan Adoke obtained from the
bank.
“I received the money as an agent of the bank. The money is not
available to be confiscated because it is not a proceed of
crime.
“I have no reason to believe it is a proceed of crime. The money
is not in Adoke’s account because it belongs to the bank”, he
said.
The witness further told the court that collecting the money
from Adoke’s house did not in anyway constitute an offence because
he acted as an agent of the bank.
Testifying further, the witness said upon the full payment of
the loan, the title deed used as security by the bank was released
by the bank to the second defendant as an indication that the loan
has been fully defrayed.
Earlier, the first prosecution witness, a Manager in charge of
foreign exchange trade at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Clement
Osagie, tendered foreign exchange transaction rates covering
August, September and October, 2013 and was admitted as
exhibits.
Under cross examination by Olalekan Ojo SAN, lawyer to the
second defendant, the witness who stated that the documents
tendered were generated from the electronic system of the CBN, said
he was not a personnel of the Information Technology (IT)
department of the CBN.
Answering a question, Osagie said that the CBN’s licenced Bureau
de Change (BdC) operators file report of transactions in CBN forex
which are kept by the Trade and Exchange department but he cannot
talk on the activities of the BdC.
While admitting that he does not know the defendants in the
case, he disclosed that his statement to the EFCC was made after
the last court’s proceedings, adding that, “I thought I would just
come and tender the documents before the court and go”.
Trial however has been adjourned to September 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11
for continuation of cross examination of the second prosecution
witness.