Jonathan’s aide
‘laundered’ N5.1bn for his wife
Patience
A prosecution witness, Orji Chukwuma, in the
ongoing trial of a former Special Assistant on
Domestic Affairs to former President Goodluck
Jonathan, Waripamo-Owei Dudafa, has told
Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High
Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, how Mr. Dudafa allegedly
laundered several billions of Naira for a former
First Lady, Patience Jonathan.
Dudafa is standing trial alongside Joseph
Iwuejo, his ex-account officer, who allegedly
aided him to perpetrate the fraud.
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Messrs. Dudafa and Iwuejo, who also claimed
to be ‘Taiwo Ebenezer’ and ‘Olugbenga Isaiah’,
between June 2013 and June 2015, were
alleged to have used different companies to
fraudulently launder various sums of money to
the tune of N5.1 billion.
On Tuesday, Chukwuma, an investigator with
the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, told the court how one
Murtala Abubakar, a Bereau de Change
operator, admitted to have collected several
millions in dollars from Dudafa.
“We discovered, in the course of our
investigation, that Abubakar was directed to
pay the various sums of money into different
accounts provided by Dudafa,” Chukwuma said.
Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel,
Rotimi Oyedepo, Mr. Chukwuma also told the
court that the money was given to Mr. Dudafa
at the Aso Rock Villa by Patience, the wife of
former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Giving further testimony, Mr. Chukwuma told
the court that Mr. Dudafa used some
companies: ABY Resources Limited; Avalon
Global Property Development Company Limited;
Pluto Property and Investment Company
Limited; Ibejige Services Limited and DeJakes
Fast Food & Restaurant Nigeria Limited to
ware-house and manage the monies found in
his possession.
The prosecution witness further stated that the
defendant did not declare his interest in these
companies in his Asset Declaration Form, and
that the monies found in his accounts at two
new generation banks were proceeds of crime.
Dudafa, through his lawyer, filed an application
urging the court to release his international
passport temporarily to enable him go for a
medical appointment outside the country.
In his response, the prosecution counsel,
Oyedepo urged the court not to grant the
application on the grounds that the EFCC had
written to a Lagos State government hospital to
examine Dudafa’s health and to determine
whether he could be treated in the country or
abroad
Oyedepo, however, told the court that he was
yet to receive any response from the hospital.
Justice Idris adjourned to October 24 for
hearing of the application and November 14
and 15, 2017 for continuation of trial.
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