‘EFCC mismanaged assets, cash recovered by Maina’s team,’ Witness tells court

Ngozika Ihuoma, the defence witness in the trial of the ex-chairman of the defunct Pension Reformed Task Team (PRTT) Abdulrasheed Maina, said on Friday the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) mismanaged the assets and cash recovered by the team.

Ihuoma, a management consultant with Crincad & Cari Nigeria Limited, stated this when he was cross-examined by the EFCC counsel, Mohammed Abubakar when the case resumed at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Crincad & Cari Nigeria Limited was contracted by PRTT for consultancy services.

The EFCC arraigned Maina on multiple charges of fraud and money laundering.

When asked to substantiate his allegation that EFCC mismanaged the recovered assets, the witness simply said: “I stand by that because it is fact that EFCC mismanaged both cash and assets handed over to them.”

Again, when asked if he did testify that Maina was being persecuted in the ongoing trial, Ihuoma added: “Yes, I stand by the statement that he (Maina) is on persecution.”

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The witness, who affirmed that the PRTTT recovered N282 billion and property worth N1.63 trillion within 18 months of its operations, insisted that about N74 billion recovered by the team was used to fund the 2012 Budget.

He restated that Maina had ensured the conviction of pension thieves.

Abubakar told Ihuoma that in the course of his evidence, he testified about internal processes and procedures of organisations such as the EFCC, National Assembly and Presidential Villa, among others.

The prosecution counsel also asked him if he had ever worked with the EFCC or as a presidential aide under former President Goodluck Jonathan but the witness gave a negative response.

The witness did not deny tendering three documents before the court which were admitted in evidence.

The documents include the judgment of Justice Adamu Bello, an EFCC memo and a letter of appointment from the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF).

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