WorldStage– The First Prosecution Witness, PW1, Dr. Michael Adariku in the trial of a former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retd) and four others before Justice C.O. Agbaza of the FCT High Court, Maitama, Abuja on Wednesday, January 14, 2026 continued his evidence-in-chief with a further breakdown of the flow of funds from the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA to private beneficiaries.
Led in his testimony by prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs SAN, the witness, an investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, disclosed that the funds from ONSA were deposited in a United Bank of Africa UBA account of Acacia Holdings Limited with account number 1017330319.
According to him, “From our analysis of Acacia Holdings Limited UBA account number 1017330319, we discovered that on May 15, 2015, there was a transfer of N119, 687.50 (One Hundred and Nineteen Thousand Six Hundred and Eighty Seven Naira Fifty Kobo) to IBB Golf Club and three payments of various amounts to Abuja Geographic Information Systems, AGIS for ground rent.”
He also disclosed that there was a transfer of N800, 000 (Eight Hundred Thousand Naira) to Aravcaria Farms Ltd on May 28 2015, and a transfer of N2, 500,000 (Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Naira) made to Mohammed Zaharadeen Baba Kusa, son of the second defendant, Aminu Baba Kusa, a former General Manager of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.
The witness also disclosed that N600 million (Six Hundred Million Naira) and additional N200 million (Two Hundred Million Naira) was sent to Acacia Holdings Limited UBA account and that N750 million (Seven Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) was sent to Reliance Referral Hospital Limited’s, First Bank account, and N650 million (Six Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) sent to Acacia Holdings Limited Eco Bank account, totalling N2.2 billion (Two Billion Two Hundred Million Naira), all of which were drawn from N5 billion transferred from Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN Signature Bonus account number 00000040022524 to ONSA account number 1014199287 domiciled in Zenith Bank in April 2015. The purpose of the transfer from the CBN, the witness disclosed, was to enable the NSA to put up adequate security for the gubernatorial and state houses of assembly elections in 2015.
The witness, however, disclosed that “From investigation the money was never used for the purpose for which it was intended, rather the money was wired to various individuals and companies of personal interest and businesses of the second defendant.”
Further in his evidence, the witness disclosed that intelligence was received and letters were written to CBN to trace the source of the funds into Acacia Holdings Limited Ecobank account, which revealed that the document showing transfer of funds to Acacia Holdings Limited Ecobank account came with the payment mandate from ONSA, duly signed by the first defendant, the former NSA and S.A. Salisu, Director Finance and Administration. The documents were tendered and admitted as Exhibit F and G1 to G20.
The witness also told the court that Exhibit F was the funds transfer mandate from the ONSA and that the first three payments were those of N600 million to Acacia Holdings UBA, N650 million to Acacia Holdings Limited Ecobank account and N750 million to Reliance Referral Hospital Limited First Bank account. “These three payments are part of the N5 billion that came from CBN to the Zenith Bank account of ONSA for the purpose of providing security for gubernatorial and state houses of assembly elections,” he said.
Exhibit G, he disclosed was an Ecobank statement of account of Acacia Holdings showing a transfer of N650 million from the ONSA account on April 17, 2015. According to the witness, “From the analysis of the statement, it was discovered that on April 20, 2015 there was an account-to-account transfer to the second defendant. On April 22, 2015 there was a transfer of N70 million to one Jubril Abdullahi and N50 million to the second defendant’s account.” He also disclosed that a transfer of N10 million on April 23, 2015 to another account of Acacia Holdings Limited and that on June 1, 2015, there was a transfer of N2 million to Suraya Maigida, a staffer of Acacia Holdings. Furthermore, he disclosed that N15 million was transferred to Ibrahim Saleh Uba in two tranches of N10 million and N5 million each. Uba, he also revealed, received N25 million on June 22, 2015 which he said was a balance for the payment of 118.132 hectares of land at Stadium Layout Kwali, FCT Abuja purchased by the second defendant.
Testifying further, he disclosed that on June 24, 2015, N2 million was transferred to Uba to facilitate the purchase of a plot of land in Wuse 2, Abuja for the second defendant and that on June 27, 2015, N25 million was also transferred to Uba. On May 25, 2015, he said, N20 million was transferred in two tranches of N10 million each to EC Associates and that finally on June 4, 2015 there was a withdrawal of N250 million, simply captured as “miscellaneous customer debit.”
The witness recalled that in the course of EFCC’s investigation, invitation was extended to the first and second defendants as suspects. The second defendant, he revealed, reported to the Commission. He was interviewed in the presence of his lawyer, one Amin Umahani and his voluntary statements, recorded having been duly informed that the allegations against him were on money laundering and abuse of office.
The witness identified the statement which the prosecution sought to tender in evidence, but was opposed by counsel to the second and fourth defendants, Richard Ebie and A.O. Ayodele, respectively, on the ground that its admissibility violates Sections 15(4) and 17(3) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, thus setting the stage for a trial-within-trial to determine the compatibility or not of the evidence with the provisions of ACJA. The matter was adjourned till February 24 and 25 2026.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, March 25, 2025 re-arraigned Dasuki, alongside a former General Manager of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Aminu Baba Kusa, Acacia Holdings, Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited before Justice Charles Agbaza of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja on a 32-count charge, bordering on breach of trust and dishonesty to the tune of N33,200,000,000 (Thirty-three billion, Two Hundred Million Naira).
