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The cash is part of the N4.7billion slush funds traced  to Obanikoro’s company, Sylva McNamara.

Out of the $5 million, EFCC’s investigation has shown how Fayose allegedly gave his associate , Abiodun Agbele, over $1million as part-payment for the acquisition of four chalets in Lagos.

The bubble burst when Agbele took the $1million to a Bureau De Change (BDC) operator, Ahmed Uba, who transferred the cash to Still Earth as part-payment for the properties.

Also, the EFCC has grilled Ekiti State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General Kolapo Kolade, who admitted that he facilitated the agreements for the four properties.

Kolade, who may face EFCC interrogators on August 30, it was gathered, said he was paid N1million for the job.

According to a top source in the commission, the ongoing investigation of Fayose for allegedly receiving N1.219billion from Obanikoro, also revealed that he got another $5m cash (N1.040billion) from the ex-minister.

“Our investigation so far has shown that  out of the $5m Fayose gave Agbele $1million which Agbele gave to a BDC operator who transferred the money to Still Earth as part-payment for the properties bought.

“Going through the accounts of Fayose, you could see a lot of transactions. Kolapo Kolade , now a commissioner in Fayose’s cabinet was the one who arranged the agreement between Still Earth and J.J. Technical.

“We have interrogated the owner of the BDC Jamil Uba, who told us how he asked his staff to attend to Agbele. Jamil said ‘I instructed Abba Ahmed Uba to transfer the money into Still Earth accounts because Abba Ahmed Uba was working under me that day when Agbele sold $1million at the rate of N208, which is equivalent of N208million.”

The EFCC team has also discovered that one of the companies used for the purchase of the properties , J.J. Technicals Limited, was not in the picture until the owners were invited for questioning.

The source said: “Agbele got Maroun Mechleb, a Lebanese and contractor to the Ekiti State Government to provide a company, J.J. Technicals Services Limited whose name was used in making the agreement for the sale of the four chalets in Victoria Island by Still Earth.

“J.J. Technicals Services belongs to Maroun Mechleb’s junior brother, Joseph and his brother-in-law. They gave him the company’s document to help them prospect for contracts in Ekiti State. He gave the company’s document to Agbele  without their knowledge.”

The two Lebanese, Joseph and Maroum Mechleb have told the EFCC that they had nothing to do with the purchase of the four properties in Lagos.

The source quoted Maroun Mechleb as saying:  “I also saw an agreement with my signature between Noga Hotels Nigeria Limited for the sum of $1.1m. I am not aware of the agreement even though my signature appears on it. The agreement is between Noga Hotels Nigeria Limited and J.J . Technical Services. My brother who owns the company does not know anything about the whole agreement with Noga Hotels Nigeria Limited.”

According to the source, Joseph Mechleb said: “I did not know that the company was used to buy any property. I don’t know of any property(ies) that J.J. Technical Services bought. I hear of Fayose but have never heard of Biodun Agbele.

“I don’t know of any company with the name, Still Earth. I got to know of a  property that was bought with J.J. Technical Services few weeks ago when our manager told me that the EFCC has invited me to Abuja. I am not a signatory to the said account.

“I don’t know the said property. I don’t know where it is located . I have never heard of any property purchased with J.J. Technicals before.

“I have not done any project in Ekiti State before. I only go visiting and sight-seeing. I visit our site in Imore, Ikere Road. I don’t visit Fayose in Ekiti. It is Maroun that works in Ekiti

State.”

Kolade, who was grilled by EFCC, it was learnt, said he knew of the agreements for the four chalets.

He said: “Sometimes in early January 2015,  Abiodun Agbele approached me that he and his friend wanted to buy a property in Lagos and gave me the particulars of the property situated on Victoria Island and that I should keep them and  conduct a search.

“I did and advised him that the property is free from encumbrance. About a month later or there about, he came to me and said the property had been paid for and that I should help them go to Lagos to collect the agreements from a company called Still Earth. I went to Lagos and collected the agreements. It was in respect of two  chalets; the agreements were between Still Earth and J.J. Technicals.

“The two agreements I signed for them at Still Earth, I brought them to Ado -Ekiti. Upon looking through the documents given to me at Still Earth, the agreement with which Still Earth bought the property from a company called Noga Hotels was also given to me.

“I noticed that Still Earth Company newly bought the property from Noga and had not perfected their papers.

“The staff of Still Earth said they could get Noga Hotels to make an agreement directly with my clients, J.J. Technicals so that they don’t do double consent but the money she asked for was ridiculously high and going through the document, I saw that the lawyer that acted for Noga Hotels is one Adekunle Ojo, who incidentally is my friend.

“I  told my client, who asked me to discuss with Lawyer Adekunle Ojo if he could work on the agreement between Noga Hotels and J.J. Technicals Services. I called Mr. Adekunle Ojo, he agreed , he said his chambers will collect N500,000 if he did that. I told my client, they said he should go ahead.

“The money was given to me and I paid it into his account. When the documents were ready, he  handed them over to me and I handed them over to Agbele and one white man who both came to me to collect same.

“The white man signed and they took the agreement away and gave me N500,000 as my fees. That is all I know about the first two chalets.

“After about two months or thereabout, Agbele called me that he has given my number to the Still Earth people and they will  call me. Later that day, someone from Still Earth called me that I should send my e-mail address. I did and the person sent to me an offer letter in respect of yet another two chalets in the same estate on Victoria Island.

“I told Agbele and he said I should accept the offer. I did by replying the e-mail. I didn’t hear anything again until one day Agbele called me again that I should  help him collect documents from Still Earth Limited in respect of the two chalets.

“This second set of agreements was made between a company called Signachorr and J.J. Technicals Services. I took them to Ado-Ekiti and handed them over to Agbele. The white man did not come  with him the second time.

“Agbele said I should help him approach Mr. Adekunle Ojo to help him write an agreement between Noga Hotels and J.J. Technical Services. I did and Mr. Adekunle Ojo sent the second set of agreement . I was also given N500,000 for him which I also paid into his account. I was also paid N500,00 for my efforts.

“When I approached Mr. Adekunle Ojo to  help write an agreement between Noga Hotels and J.J. Technicals in respect of the two sets of agreement, he demanded for copies of the agreement between Still Earth and J.J. Technicals as a confirmation that J.J . Technicals actually bought from Still Earth.

“I was given a copy of the agreement to give him and I actually gave him. He also called to inform me that he also confirmed from Still Earth that J.J. Technical actually bought the properties before agreeing to prepare the agreements. I don’t know who J.J. Technical is.”

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has seized some properties said to belong to Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, Punch newspapers reports.

It was learnt that the properties located in the highbrow areas of Lagos and Abuja were seized as part of investigations into the N1.219bn the governor allegedly received from the Office of the National Security Adviser when Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) held sway as well as some kickbacks he (Fayose) allegedly received from the Ekiti State Government contractors.

According to investigators, the seized houses belonging to Fayose were allegedly purchased with stolen funds and the EFCC invoked the Assets Forfeiture clause to seize the properties in line with Sections 28 and 34 of the EFCC (Establishment Act) 2004 and Section 13(1) of the Federal High Court Act, 2004.

The seizure came less than a month after the governor’s three Zenith Bank accounts were frozen by the anti-graft agency.

A visit to two of the properties on 32 Yedseram Street and 44 Osun River Crescent, Maitama, Abuja, observed the inscriptions ‘EFCC, Keep Off’ on the fences.

According to court documents filed by the EFCC, the property on Osun River Crescent was bought by Fayose in the name of his London-based sister, Mrs. Moji Ladeji.

The governor reportedly pulled down the structure of one of the Abuja properties and started building a new one.

The two properties, which are uncompleted buildings, were said to be worth over N470m.

According to Punch, the properties in Lagos were four duplexes located at Plot 100 Tiamiyu Savage Street, Victoria Island. The four duplexes cost $1.3m (N364m) each.

They were allegedly bought through a company, JJ Technical.

The EFCC had in a 10-paragraph counter-affidavit deposed to by Tosin Owobo accused Fayose of using the proceeds of crime to purchase properties.

The affidavit read in part, “Apart from fraudulently retaining the sum of N1, 219,490,000 being part of the N4, 745,000,000 stolen from the treasury of the Federal Government through the Office of the National Security Adviser, the applicant (Fayose) has also received gratification in form of kickbacks from various contractors with the Ekiti State Government such as Samchese Nigeria Ltd, Tender Branch Concept Nig. Ltd, Hoff Concept Ltd and Calibre Consulting Ltd.

“The applicant (Fayose) received these kickbacks and gratification through Still Earth Ltd and Signachorr Nigeria Limited. In turn, the applicant (Fayose) instructed the Still Earth Ltd and Signachoor Nigeria Limited to use the funds to acquire properties for him.

“In complying with the applicant’s instruction, Still Earth Limited and Signachoor Nigeria Limited acquired properties on behalf of the applicant (Fayose) in the name of a company known as J.J Technical Services Limited belonging to the applicant (Fayose) and his wife (Feyisetan).

“That the applicant (Fayose) also used the name of one Mrs. Moji Ladeji (the applicant’s sister) to acquire a property situated at 44, Osun Crescent, Maitama Abuja, from the proceeds of the alleged offences of receiving gratification and kickbacks.”

In his reaction, however, Fayose said all properties linked to him were not bought with stolen funds.

In a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the governor said any property that might be linked to him or his company was “bought legitimately and his properties were duly declared in his assets declaration form and sources of such funds were not illicit.”

He said since the money he got for his election was from legitimate sources and not from the ONSA, “how the money was spent remained his own business and not that of anyone.”

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The property is said to be under an interim forfeiture order by Justice Christopher Balogun of the Lagos State High Court.

Mr Adegboruwa pleaded not guilty to the one count charge and his lawyer, Emeka Etiaba (SAN), asked the court to grant him bail on self recognizance.

The lawyer assured presiding justice, Oluremi Oguntoyinbo, that his client would neither jump bail nor interfere with the prosecution’s witnesses.

In proof of the application, Mr Etiaba also told the court that Mr Adegboruwa is a parish pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church, Lekki branch who also fights for the downtrodden.

In his ruling on the application, Justice Oguntoyinbo admitted that he was reluctant to grant Mr Adegboruwa bail on self-recognizance.

Instead, the judge granted him bail in the sum of N10m with two sureties in like sum.

The judge said the sureties must have landed properties in Lagos with bank accounts, office and residential addresses which must be verified by the court’s registrar.

Before the bail conditions are perfected, Justice Oguntoyinbo ordered that Mr Adegboruwa be remanded in the custody of the EFCC.

She then adjourned till the 13th of June for commencement of trial.

Adegboruwa was arraigned on a one count charge alongside one Jonathan Udeagbala.

In the charge marked, FHC/L/181c/2016, presented before the court by its prosecutor, Idris Abdullahi, the EFCC claimed that Adegboruwa and Udeagbala dealt in a property “lying, being and situate at House 105, Nicon Estate, Lekki, Lagos,” without the authorisation of the EFCC.

According to the anti-graft agency, the said property was a subject of litigation before Justice Christopher Balogun of the Lagos State High Court.

The EFCC claimed that on August 13, 2013, Adegboruwa and Udeagbala dealt with the property, in defiance of the order.

The defendants were accused of leasing the property to one Shelf Drilling Nigeria Limited in the sum of N61.6 million, which the EFCC claimed was credited into Adegboruwa’s account with Zenith Bank.

The prosecutor claimed that Adegboruwa and Udeagbala committed an offence punishable under Section 32(1) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act 2004.

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in one of its charges accused Saraki of declaring the asset that does not exist.
But Usoro said the commission made an error in its evidence tendered before the tribunal.

Usoro explained that according to Ugwuagu’s letter, the property on 15a Macdonald Street Ikoyi Street in Lagos has four bedroom bungalow, but that the one contained in EFCC’s charge had four bungalows and two boys quarters.

This, the principal witness who is an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Michael Wetkas admitted to saying “Our investigation showed that there were three pieces of property located at McDonald road, Ikoyi, 15, block A and B, and 15b.”

Usoro while arguing that the property under contention may not be that of the Senate President said, “The description on Ugwuagu’s letter shows it does not fit the description of that on the evidence as contained in exhibit 14.”
Wetkas while responding to a question from Usoro also confirmed the difference and said, “Yes the property in Egwuagu’s letter is different from that contained in exhibit 14.

“When people buy properties, they can expand it,” he added.

The Chairman of CCT, Danladi Umar adjourned the matter till Tuesday next week for continuation of trial.

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