A former governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, stands accused of accepting a staggering $15.8 million in cash from a witness, Abubakar Umar.
Umar, a bureau de change operator, made this claim during a court hearing held on Friday.
He testified that this exchange took place at Suswam’s home in Abuja back in 2014.
The money is said to be part of an alleged scheme to divert N3.1 billion from Benue State funds.
In 2020, Suswam and his former finance commissioner, Omadachi Okolobia, were re-arraigned on serious charges of money laundering.
This case is not new; it first began in 2015 when they were initially arraigned before Justice Ahmed Mohammed.
The charges allege that both men played key roles in siphoning off large sums from the state treasury.
Umar’s detailed account paints a vivid picture of how this alleged money transfer occurred.
“One day in 2014, I was in the office when the former governor asked me to meet him at his house in Maitama,” he recalled.
He was accompanied by a woman whom he described as “fair.”
Umar stated, “He asked me to give the woman my account number. I gave her my Zenith Bank account number.”
The woman assured him that money would be sent to his account.
On August 8, 2014, N413 million was transferred to Umar’s account, he said.
Following this, he contacted Suswam to convert the money into dollars.
“He told me to take my time,” Umar noted.
Three days later, Umar completed the currency exchange and notified the former governor that the money was ready.
Umar explained the security measures taken during the delivery of the cash.
“I told him he should inform the security at the gate that I was coming. If not, they wouldn’t let me in.”
Upon arriving at Suswam’s residence, Umar described how the guards opened the gates after he provided his name.
He recounted, “I sat in the waiting room where he came and met me.”
Umar then produced the cash, which they both confirmed amounted to N413 million.
The witness claimed that in total, he received N3 billion from the former governor.
