Bank manager reveals details of judge’s dollar transactions
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NIGERIA: A BRANCH Manager with Diamond Bank Plc on Monday revealed how he helped a serving judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, deposited several thousands of dollars into her account with the bank.
Mr. Ademola Oshodi, who was testifying before the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos in the allegation of corruption leveled against Ofili-Ajumogobia and Mr. Godwin Obla, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said that he often moved the dollars from her chambers to the bank.
The judge and Obla were dragged to court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged corruption.
They were charged with two counts of perverting the course of justice, but Obla was charged with additional two-counts of offering N5 million as gratification to Ofili-Ajumogobia, a public official while carrying out her duties as a judge.
The Federal court judge is facing a 26-count charge of unlawful enrichment, corruption and taking property as a public officer, forgery and giving false information to EFCC official.
Though the duo denied all the charges against them, but the EFCC alleged that between 2012 and 2015 Ajumogobia received $788,000 from various sources and paid the money into her Diamond Bank Account with number 0032091183.
However, while testifying in court and being led in evidence by counsel to the EFCC, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, the banker said that he met Ofili-Ajumogobia at her chambers at the Federal High Court when he opened an account for her.
The banker, who’s the account officer to the accused judge, explained that he regularly visited the judge’s chambers and also her home anytime she needed him to make deposit into her dollar account
He said: “I used to meet the judge in her chambers and sometimes in her home, where I’d receive the foreign currency, which was US dollars to deposit into her bank account.
“I introduced one Abba Said, a Bureau de Change operative to her when there was a need to change the dollars to naira. This mostly happened when she was not comfortable with a particular transaction.”
The banker added: “There were instances where the deposits exceeded the maximum amount for an individual account, when such instances occurred, I paid the maximum amount into her account.
“I would then deposit the remaining cash into my account which was paid into her account in subsequent days.”
However, when EFCC moved to tender the client’s bank statement, Mr. Olawole Akoni (SAN), the counsel to Ofili-Ajumogobia, objected on the grounds that he had not reviewed the bank statements.
“The first defendant has been in incarceration since November 10,” he said, adding: “She needs adequate time and facility to defend herself. I humbly seek an adjournment,” Akoni said.
Similarly, counsel to Obla, Mr Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN) requested for adjournment, arguing that his client too had been in incarceration since November 8.
The judge, Justice Hakeem Oshodi granted the adjournment, saying “for the purpose of fair hearing, the court will accede to the request for adjournment of this trial.”
“The case is adjourned to January 9, 2017 for continuation of trial,” the judge declared.
