Mubarak Isa, a witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Friday told a Federal High Court in Abuja that the immediate-past head of service (HoS), Winifred Oyo-Ita, did not disclose some property she owned in her asset declaration form.
Mr Isa, an assistant superintendent at EFCC, testified as the seventh prosecution witness (PW7) in the ongoing fraud allegation preferred against Mrs Oyo-Ita and others.
The PW7 told Justice James Omotosho that he made the discovery when he joined a team of other EFCC investigators, comprising Hamma Bello and Rukkayat Ibrahim, to investigate Oyo-Ita.
According to the witness, sometime in 2019, Oyo-Ita filed a declaration of assets form which was witnessed by Tahir Mamman at the EFCC office.
“In the course of investigation, we found that personal accounts in First City Monument Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, ECOBANK; Frontline Ace Global Ltd and Asanaya Projects Ltd accounts in Zenith and Fidelity Banks, all linked to Oyo-Ita were not disclosed in the form.
“Analysis into these accounts showed payment from Asanaya Projects to Multipurpose Infrastructural Development Company.
“This necessitated an interview with the Managing Director, Mr Emmanuel Obiri, and he disclosed that he met with Oyo-Ita, who showed interest in owning property in Lagos as a fallback after her retirement.
Winifred Oyo-Ita pens retirement letter over N3bn fraud
Head of service, Winifred Oyo-Ita, denies report of missing N16bn
“A total payment of N65 million was paid by other companies for two numbers of four bedroom terrace and two numbers of shops all in Lagos for the sum of N94 million.
“These properties were also not disclosed in the asset declaration form,” the witness told the court.
When asked under cross-examination if he was aware Oyo-Ita was neither a director nor a shareholder in the two companies he mentioned, the witness told the court that he did not know.
EFCC’s counsel, Halidu Mohammed, sought to tender the declaration form as evidence in the case which was not opposed by the defence lawyers and Justice Omotosho admitted it as an exhibit.
Oyo-Ita and her co-defendants were on January 18, 2023, arraigned by the anti-graft agency on an 18-count charge of N3 billion fraud.
They all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
