Abiodun Agbele, previously charged with 11 counts, is now faced with an escalated set of 24 charges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), amplifying the legal pressure on him as an associate of former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose.
In 2016, the EFCC brought charges against Agbele, along with former Minister of Defence for State Musliu Obanikoro, Sylvan Mcnamara Limited, Lt. A.O Adewale, Tunde Oshinowo, and Olalekan Ogunseye (who are all currently at large), for 11 counts of money laundering totaling N1.219 billion.
According to the EFCC, the funds in question were reportedly part of a N4.7 billion transfer originating from the Office of the National Security Adviser and deposited into the Central Bank of Nigeria.
In the revised charges, Agbele, Sylvan Mcnamara Limited, De Privateer Ltd, and Spotless Investment Ltd were named as the primary defendants, occupying the first to fourth positions in the list of accused parties.
As per the EFCC’s allegations, Agbele was accused of indirectly receiving N1.219 billion in cash from Obanikoro for Fayose in June 2014, bypassing the requirement to involve a financial institution.
According to the EFCC, the actions of Agbele were deemed to be in violation of Section 1(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 (As Amended) and are subject to punishment under Section 15(3) of the same Act.
The EFCC also accused Agbele of aiding De Privateer to commit an offence to take possession of N200m which formed part of N1.219bn, “proceeds of money laundering on behalf of Ayo Fayose, contrary to section Section 18(A) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 18 of the same act.”
During Tuesday’s proceedings at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Agbele declared his innocence by pleading not guilty when the charges were presented to him.
At the trial’s resumption, former Central Bank of Nigeria official Aliyu Mukadas, guided by EFCC counsel Wahab Shittu (SAN), informed the court that a total of N4.15 billion was wired to Sylvan Mcnamara Limited’s account.
Obanikoro had, during the proceedings in November 2023, told the court that Sylvan Mcnamara Ltd’s account “was created to deal with the issue of Boko Haram in Lagos. The account was created by Taiwo Kareem and was used for the purpose of disbursing funds for election.”
During Tuesday’s proceedings, the former CBN official, Mukadas, affirmed that the funds were disbursed in installments to Sylvan Mcnamara Ltd’s account at Diamond Bank.
Furthermore, the retired CBN staff verified that the National Security Adviser possessed an account with the apex bank intended solely for supporting security operations, rather than being earmarked for electoral use.
He said, “I worked with CBN for 30 years at its Abuja branch and banking services department where I retired last year.
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“We effected payments to all ministry or departments. The Office of the National Adviser is one of the agencies having an account with the CBN.
“The purpose of the NSA’s account is for security operations; not for election purposes.
“We paid N200m to Sylvan Mcnamara Limited through Diamond Bank.
We also paid N2bn, N700m, N1bn and N225m into Sylvan Mcnamara Limited.”
When asked if he knew what the money was used for, Mukadas replied that he was not aware.
During the cross-examination led by Agbele’s counsel, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), Mukadas attested to the court that the payment mandate underwent thorough verification before the transactions were carried out.
In response to inquiries regarding the purpose outlined in the payment mandate for the funds allocated to the company, the retired CBN official stated, “For services rendered.”
He, however, said he had no suspicion the money was for fraudulent purposes.
Another witness called by the EFCC, a former Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank, Peter Amagbo, denied that the bank funded Fayose’s re-election campaign.
He said, “We did not fund election for Ekiti State. We didn’t have any meetings with my chairman and Fayose. I have never seen Agbele before. I met Fayose once as MD/CEO. My second meeting with him was an ex-governor during a friend’s father’s funeral.”
Amagbo informed the court that the bank was with the state before the emergence of Fayose and sustained that during his tenure.
He said that they had a relationship before Fayose, and it was maintained during his time. When asked if he was privy to all conversations or interactions between Fayose and the bank, he replied that he was not, as the governor dealt with people in their location.