- Abubakar Umar testified that he delivered $15.8 million in cash to former Governor Gabriel Suswam at his Abuja residence in 2014
- The trial against Suswam involves allegations of money laundering, with a total of N3.1 billion reportedly diverted from Benue State’s treasury
Abubakar Umar, a Bureau De Change operator and witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has testified that he delivered $15.8 million in cash to former Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam at his Abuja residence in 2014.
Umar testified during Suswam’s ongoing trial, recounting how he received money through proxies and converted it to dollars on multiple occasions.
During his court appearance, Umar narrated one instance: “In 2014, the former governor asked me to meet him at his house in Maitama, Abuja. I arrived and met him with a fair lady. He instructed me to provide my Zenith Bank account number to the woman, who promised to transfer money into it.”
On August 8, 2014, N413 million was transferred into Umar’s account. He explained that Suswam instructed him to convert the sum into dollars. Three days later, he acquired the dollar equivalent and delivered the cash to Suswam’s residence.
“I took a cab to the house, and after passing through security, I met him in the waiting room. We both confirmed that the money was the dollar equivalent of N413 million,” Umar told the court.
The Bureau De Change operator also testified that over time, N3 billion had been transferred to his account for conversion.
The trial judge, Peter Lifu, adjourned the case to October 4, 2024, to continue the trial.
In 2020, Suswam and Omadachi Okolobia, a former finance commissioner in Benue, were re-arraigned on an 11-count charge related to money laundering. They are accused of diverting N3.1 billion from the state’s treasury. The duo were initially arraigned in 2015 before Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court.