By Dipo Awojobi – Michael Wetkas, an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday, April 18, claimed that Bukola Saraki, the Senate president bought a property for N522million, which he failed to declare at the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).
He said that payment for the property situated at 17 McDonald street, Ikoyi, Lagos was done in seven tranches.
Wetkas claimed the property was bought in the name of Tiny Tee Limited from a Presidential Implementation Committee on landed property between 2006 and 2007.
He said: “The part payment was from GTB account of Carlie Properties and Investment Ltd. There is a draft before me for N256,300,000 which was part payment for 17, Mcdonald Street, Ikoyi, Lagos.
“There is another draft before me of N12,815,000 which was part payment for 17, Mcdonald, Ikoyi.
“There is another draft of a total of N24,090,000. That total is broken down into – N20m from Zenith Bank and N4,090,000 from GTB. The total of the two are part payment for 17 Mcdonald, Ikoyi.
“The N20m from the Zenith Bank account of Carlie Properties and Investments Ltd while N4,090,000 was also from Carlie Properties and Investment Ltd with GTB.
“There is another draft before me for N180,675,000 dated April 3, 2007. It was also part payment for 17 Mcdonald Ikoyi from the defendant’s personal account with GTB.
“I have another draft of N36,135,000 dated January 10, 2007. The draft was cleared in Carlie Properties and Investments Ltd’s account in GTB and that also forms part payment for 17 Mcdonald, Ikoyi.
“There is another draft of N12,045,000 dated January 10, 2007.”
However, Rotimi Jacobs, the counsel to the federal government through the witness, showed cheques allegedly drawn from Saraki’s personal account and the account of Carlie Properties, Investments Limited for payment for the property.
However, Kanu Agabi, the counsel to Saraki, argued the fact that the charge was brought forward over a month after the trial commenced which raises concerns.
He disclosed that the charge was filed on September 14, 2015 while the statement was made October 30, 2015.
Rotimi Jacobs, the counsel to the federal government while defending himself on the fact that he was not letting the witness speak for himself, said: “Michael Wetkass is not a forensic expert therefore he needed to explain some things to the court.”
Agabi also raised concerns on the fact that that the report was filed nine years after the investigation commenced in 2006
Wetkass added that he didn’t investigate some of those complaints that were filed against Saraki and therefore knows nothing about them.
The case was therefore adjourned till Tuesday, April 19 at 10am.
