Ex-presidential aide Dudafa narrates how he relayed cash to BDC on Jonathan, wife’s orders

Former aide to President Goodluck Jonathan, Waripamo-Owei Dudafa, on Tuesday told a Federal High Court in Lagos that all actions he took, including instructing other aides to deliver hard currencies to Bureau de Change operators for exchange, was at the instructions of Jonathan and his wife, Patience.

He was testifying for the ex-First Lady when hearing in her N200 million fundamental rights enforcement suit, filed against Skye Bank Plc and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) came up in the court.

Patience had instituted the suit in 2016 to challenge the ‘No Debit Order’ placed by the EFCC on four Skye Bank accounts having a total of $15,591,700.

Despite the fact that the four accounts in question were said to have been opened in the names of four companies linked to Dudafa, Mrs. Jonathan filed the suit to lay claim to the money on the argument that the former aide opened them on her behalf.

Others joined as defendants in the matter aside Skye Bank and the EFCC, are Dudafa and the four companies.

The names of the companies were given as Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited; Seagate Property Development and Investment Company Limited; Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited; and Avalon Global Property Development Limited.

The hearing of the matter began on Tuesday with Dudafa testify in favour of Patience Jonathan against the EFCC and other defendants.

Dudafa, who was led by the former First Lady’s lawyer, Mr. G.I. Abibo (SAN), adopted his witness’ statement on oath and urged Justice Mohammed Idris to adopt same as his evidence in the case.

He later was handed over to the EFCC lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, for cross-examination.

Oyedepo asked Dudafa if he knew one Festus Iyoha and Dudafa answered in the affirmative, saying that Iyoha was “a presidential steward; a steward that was attached to the President, the Commander-in-Chief.”

Also asked if he knew one Peter, he said yes, explaining that Peter was also a presidential steward.

Oyedepo, facing Dudafa asked him, “You had cause to instruct these two persons that you have identified as stewards to the President to take hard currency for onward delivery to Bureau de Change operators, particularly one Abubakar Murtala.”

Dudafa in his response rejected the suggestion, saying he never gave the stewards any instructions of his own but rather relayed to them instructions by the President and his wife.

Dudafa said, “As you know, I was a servant, a domestic assistant to the President. By virtue of my position, I never had power to give instructions. I could only relay instructions of the then President and his wife to any aide that was available, including Festus and Peter.”

When Oyedepo returned the question again, maintaining that Dudafa had yet to answer it, Dudafa threw back at him, “I will not be cowed or cajoled. I am under oath; probably Mr. Rotimi needs to be educated about the workings of the Presidency.”

At this point, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), who is also a defence counsel in the case, rose and told the judge that Dudafa had already answered the question.

Oyedepo in response to Ozekhome told him that he was prejudicing his case.

Following intervention of other SANs, Messrs Ifedayo Adedipe and Lanre Ogunlesi, normalcy was returned and Oyedepo went back to Dudafa and put the same question to him again, insisting that he must answer it.

Oyedepo said to Dudafa, “In the course of your official duty, you handed over hard currency to Peter and Festus for onward delivery to a Bureau de Change operator, Murtala.”

Dudafa again answered, “I relayed different instructions from the President and his wife and the instruction can come in the form of ‘Dudafa, give this money to BDC, change it to dollars’. But if you say I did it, it was as if I did it on my own volition.

“Several times, the President and his wife gave me money, naira to exchange for dollars, which I relayed.”

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Not ready to give up, Oyedepo insisted “it was not the President and his wife that did the physical handing over of the money.”

Dudafa answered, “I will not agree! “It could be that the President was in his bedroom and said, ‘Dudafa, take this money, give it to Festus in the sitting room.’ It doesn’t mean I was the one who gave the money to Festus. What is the problem with relaying message? If by my position, I could enter the President’s bedroom, I don’t know how that becomes a problem.”

Following Oyedepo insistence, Dudafa finally conceded that he was the one who handed over the money to the presidential stewards.

Oyedepo then asked if he was aware that some of the cash sums were “in excess of $500,000 and $1 million per day.”

“I did not know, because “I didn’t make the payments,” Dudafa replied.

Oyedepo asked again, “You were in constant communication via text messages with Mr. Abubakar Murtala.”

“The communication was basically ‘what is the exchange rate today?” Dudafa said.

Oyedepo, who insisted that Dudafa knew the cash sums, later asked him if he was aware that at the time he was taking money for Patience to the BDC operator, Patience was a Permanent Secretary in the employ of the Bayelsa State Government, but Dudafa said he was not aware as it was not part of his schedule to know.

Further proceedings in the case have been adjourned till March 26, 2018.

 

 

 

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