The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has disclosed that both Ekiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose and former minister of state for defence, Musiliu Obanikoro received N4.745bn from the arms deal scandal.
According to the EFCC, N4.745bn was paid into the Diamond Bank account of Sylvan McNamara, a company where Obanikoro’s sons Gbolahan and Babajide Obanikoro are signatories to the account.
It was gathered that Sylvan McNamara was incorporated in November 2011, with the following people as directors: Ikenna Ezekwe, Idowu Oshodi and Elizabeth Adeniyi.
The EFCC, which has frozen the bank accounts of the Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, and the account of a company, belonging to the two sons of a former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, said it had recovered evidence of the alleged illegal transactions from the banks.
The EFCC also exposed how N1, 219, 490,000 was allegedly flown to Akure Airport on June 12, 2014 to Fayose through his associate, Abiodun Agbele (aka Abbey).
The EFCC stated in the report that, “On June 12, 2014, barely 10 days to the Ekiti State governorship election, Obanikoro and a man, who claimed to be his Aide-de-Camp by the name of A. O. Adewale, chartered a private jet belonging to OAS Helicopters.
“About N724,500,000 was conveyed on the plane with tail number N638MA. The plane was an HS125 jet, operated by Okin Travellers, a subsidiary of Elizade. The plane landed at Akure at 9.38am and then went back to Lagos to get an extra N494,900,000 and landed at Akure at 5.57pm.
“Obanikoro handed the money over to one Abiodun Agbele, otherwise known as Abey, an associate of Fayose. Officials of Zenith Bank arrived at the tarmac in a bullion van to convey all the cash to the bank’s vault, located at 13 Alagbaka Estate, Akure.”
“Abbey directed the bank to pay N137m into the account of Ayodele Fayose with number 1003126654 and Bank Verification Number 22338867502. The bank teller dated June 26, 2014, was filled by Abbey with teller number 0556814.
“Abbey directed the bank to transfer N118,760,000 to the same account and paid in N50m cash into Fayose’s account.
“On April 7, 2015, several months later, Fayose personally moved N300m to his fixed deposit account at Zenith Bank with number 9013074033 with the same BVN. The account is domiciled at 15 Olusola Abiona Street, Estate, Alapere, Ketu, Lagos.”