DEPUTY CONTROLLER CUSTOMS TOLD ME TO PAY N12 MILLION INTO JUSTICE OFILI AJUMOGOBIA’S ACCOUNT – WITNESS

IKEJA, Lagos, Nigeria – A witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Omale Ujah today informed a Lagos High Court, presided over by Justice Hakeem Oshodi that he was instructed by Deputy Controller General of Customs, Musa Tahir to pay N12 million into a company account owned by the embattled Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia.

“In the course of my duty in 2014,the Deputy Controller-General that I was working with, Musa Tahir, came down from the office of the Controller-General of Custom and gave me the account number of Nigel and Colive limited.

“Saying that the CGC said we should liase with 12 commands and they should pay N1m each to my account and I should transfer the whole sum to Nigel and Colive limited. And that instruction was carried out,” Ujah said.

While been led in evidence by the prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, Ujah told the court that he was instructed by one Musa Tahir, who was the Deputy Controller-General of Custom to pay the sum of N12m to the account of Nigel and Colive limited, a company owned by Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia.

He added that he paid the money in three trenches; N4m, N3m and N5m and further stated that no services was rendered by the company to custom before those monies were paid.

Under cross-examination by Ofili-Ajumogobia’s counsel, Chief Robert Clark (SAN), Ujah said in custom, you obey the last order and he was not trained to ask questions, so he could not ask what the monies are meant for.

Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia is standing trial alongside a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Godwin Obla for graft and other offences.

The anti-graft agency had alleged that Obla, while appearing in a matter before Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia, offered a gratification of N5m to the judge to allegedly induce the judge to refrain from acting in the exercise of her official duties as a public officer.

Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia was also accused of receiving a total of $793,800 in several tranches from different sources between 2012 and 2015.

The EFCC claimed that the embattled judge and the SAN acted contrary to sections 64 (1) and 97 (1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, No. 11, 2011.