Alleged ₦3.1bn Fraud: I delivered $15.8m cash to Suswam, says witness

A key witness in the trial of former Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam has testified in court about delivering a substantial sum of money to him in cash. Abubakar Umar, a bureau de change operator, claimed that Suswam instructed him to convert ₦3.1 billion to dollars and deliver the equivalent ($15.8 million) to his residence in Maitama, Abuja.

The witness’s testimony came during the trial of Suswam and his former Commissioner of Finance, Omodachi Okolobia, who are facing money laundering charges. The prosecution alleges that the funds were proceeds from the sale of state government shares.

Umar detailed how the money was transferred to his account in tranches and how he exchanged it for dollars before delivering it to Suswam. He also confirmed that the transaction was carried out at the exchange rate of ₦197 to a dollar.

During proceedings at the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, Umar testified that the funds were transferred to him in tranches by Suswam through a proxy. The transfers, totalling ₦3.1 billion, were made by a woman acting on Suswam’s behalf, starting with ₦413 million on August 8, 2014.

Umar explained how he changed the naira into dollars at an exchange rate of ₦197 per dollar and delivered the cash to Suswam’s home.

“One day in 2014, when I was in the office, the former governor of Benue State asked me to meet him in his house in Maitama, Abuja. I went and met him in the house together with one fair woman. He asked me to give the woman my account number. I gave the woman my Zenith Bank account number. The woman said she’d send money into that account.

“On the 8th of August 2014, N413 million was transferred to my account. Based on this, I called the former governor, and he told me to change the money to dollars, and I asked him to give me time to do that. Three days after I bought the dollar equivalent, I called the former governor and informed him that the money was ready. He now asked me to take the money to his house in Maitama, near Jumat Mosque. I now told him that he should inform the security at the gate that I was coming; if not they would not allow me access into the gate. I took a cab to the house, and after I arrived at the house, I knocked at the gate and they opened. I told them my name. They opened the first and second gates and I sat in the waiting room where he came and met me. I now brought out the money which we both confirmed to be the equivalent of the N413 million. The exchange rate then was N197”, he said.

Further transfers were made on September 12 and October 13, 2014, amounting to a total of ₦3 billion. Umar confirmed that the funds were converted into dollars and delivered in cash to Suswam.

“On the 12th of September 2014, N637 million was transferred to my account. After N637 million was transferred to my account, after like 40 minutes, N363 million was also transferred into my account. On 13th October 2014, N630,008,50, (Six Hundred and Thirty Million, Eight Thousand and Fifty Naira) was also transferred to my account. On 17th October 2014, 1,0068,000 (One Billion, Sixty-eight Million) was transferred to my account. It is the woman who was directed by the former governor to do the transfers. The total money transferred to my account was N3 billion,” he added.

The former governor, along with his Commissioner of Finance, Omodachi Okolobia, faces an 11-count of money laundering linked to the sale of state shares, involving ₦3.1 billion.

Justice Lifu adjourned the case until October 4, 2024, for the continuation of the trial.