N4.6 bn pension fraud: EFCC witness indicts Katun
Witness
By Edith Nwapi
Abuja, March 13, 2018 (NAN) The EFCC on Tuesday told an FCT High Court, Maitama, how the commission discovered award of fictitious contracts to the tune of N4.6billion, by Pension Unit, Office of Head of Civil Service of the Federation.
Mr Nurideen Sulaiman , an officer of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), disclosed this in his evidence-in-chief in the N4.6billion scam in the pension unit.
Sulaiman, stated also that over N600million was paid as pension to fictitious pensioners between 2008 and 2010.
The witness stated this while testifying as the first prosecution witness (PW1) in the case brought by EFCC against Mohammed Katun.
Katun, former staff of Pension Account, Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, is facing trial on 11-count charge bordering on pension fraud.
The witness said EFCC, sometimes in 2010 was invited by the Presidential Task Team on Pension to take part in the biometric and verification exercise of pension.
Sulaiman, led in evidence by the Prosecuting Counsel, Mr Yusuf Tarfa (SAN), said that in the course of the exercise, they discovered a lot of irregularities which were reported back to the commission.
He said the former Chairman of EFCC, Mrs Farida Waziri, had ordered investigation into the pension fraud.
The order, according to him, led to the setting up of a 14-man investigation team led by Wakili Muhammed.
“In the course of investigation, we discovered two-set of e-payment mandates sent to FinBank, now FCMB, for the payment of some beneficiaries.
“They were signed by the defendant and Shuaibu Teidi’’, he said.
He informed the court that the pension investigation team requested for the bank to provide it with the account details of the Head of Service Pension Account from which the payments were made.
Sulaiman stated that the team discovered from the bank’s response that the defendant was one of the signatories to the account.
He further said that an analysis of the account revealed that there were several payments to individuals and companies as well as transfers to other head of service pension accounts.
This, the witness said prompted a request made to all then existing 21 commercial banks for details of the Head of Service Pension Accounts for under study.
He said the request was also intended to be furnished with the accounts of beneficiaries of payment made from the said accounts.
He said from the responses received and their analysis, the investigation team saw money coming into three personal accounts of the defendant totaling about N63million.
According to the prosecution witness, several of the defendant’s colleagues were invited for questioning, adding that one Abdul Mohammed and Aliyu Bello, paid N2million each to the defendant.
He further said another fraud detected was what was referred to as ‘collective allowance’ for some staff of the pension unit.
He said it was discovered that some of the members of staff had through the collective allowance paid between N6 million and N10 million depending on their grade levels.
He said the payment of the collective allowance was signed by Katun and Teidi respectively.
When cross examined by the counsel for the defendant, Mr Mohammed Ndayako, the witness informed the court that he participated in the investigation.
He stated that he was aware that there was a guideline on the implementation of e-payment from the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
The witness, however, said the guideline showed him by the defendant’s counsel was not the same as the one the EFCC pension investigation team received from the Accountant General of the Federation’s office.
When asked by the defendant’s counsel if he has substantial proof against the defendant, the witness answered in the affirmative.
“We have so many things to show as proof, but it depends on when the prosecuting counsel decides to present them to the court’’, he said.
Justice Peter Affen thereafter adjourned the matter until April 19 for continuation. (NAN)
NEO/OMO/OU
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Edited by Martins Odeh/Obike Ukoh
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