N11.5bn fraud case against Alao-Akala: What happened in court today

Gov. Adebayo Alao-Akala

Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala

Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala

By Suleiman Shehu/News Agency of Nigeria

Mrs. Hellen Ilegogie, a witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the trial of ex-Oyo State governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala, over alleged N11.5 billion fraud, has denied knowledge of the contract involved.

Illegogie, an official of Polaris Bank, told the Oyo State High Court in Ibadan on Thursday that she knew nothing of the contract or alleged fraud.

Alao-Akala, Hosea Agboola, former Oyo State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matter and Olufemi Babalola, a businessman, are being prosecuted by EFCC over allegation of N11.5 billion fraud.

The trio are facing an 11-count charge bordering on conspiracy, fraud, award of contract without budgetary provision, and acquiring property with money derived from illegal activities among others.

The witness, under cross-examination on Thursday by Mr Akeem Afolabi (SAN), counsel to Alao-Akala and Babalola, said that she knew nothing about the inflow and outflow of contract money in Babalola’s account between 2007 and 2011.

The witness told the court that she joined Skybank in 2014, but which later transformed into Polaris Bank in year 2016 and that she was not the account officer managing Babalola’s account in Polaris bank.

Ilegogie, who was summoned to tender Babalola’s statement of account with Polaris bank, admitted that the account statement tendered was not signed but stamped.

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She also admitted during cross-examination that she was not the maker of the statement of account which carried no signature, adding that the statement was sent from the bank’s Head office.

The witness, however, admitted that the document emanating from the bank ordinarily must be signed by the bank to authenticate the genuineness of the document.

The counsel to EFCC, Dr Benedict Ubi, had earlier tendered the statement of account through the witness and which was admitted as exhibit J by the court.

Also testifying before the court, an official of the EFCC, Mr. Ayatudeen Ahmed, said he was part of the team that conducted an investigation into a case of construction of a 5km road in each of the 33 LGA in Oyo State under the administration of Alao-Akala in 2010.

Ahmed told the court that they conducted the investigation based on the petitions received by the commission from some concerned citizens of Oyo State, who alleged fraud in the award of the contract.

“The suspects were invited for investigation and we also wrote to Polaris bank for a statement of account of Pentagon Engineering Consultant, a consultancy company belonging to Babalola, employed by the Oyo State Government.

” During analysis of the account statement, we discovered that Pentagon Engineering Consultant received a sum of N269 million from the Oyo State Government,” the witness said.

Justice Muniru Owolabi adjourned the case till Friday for the continuation of the hearing.

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