98% of local, foreign currencies found in my house mere ‘gifts’, Ex-NNPC GMD Yakubu

A former Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Andrew Yakubu, has said 98 per cent of the $9,772,800 and £74,000 cash recovered from a safe in his house in Kaduna State was gift from well-wishers.

Yakubu said two per cent of the money is from the savings he made from the estacode he received while in office.

The former GMD spoke yesterday at a Federal High Court in Abuja while testifying as the first defence witness in his trial on charges of money laundering.

He formally opened his defence yesterday.

Led in evidence by his lawyer, Ahmed Raji (SAN), Yakubu said: “Yes, my lord, I confirm that the money in a safe, which is referred to in counts three and four of the charge, was taken from my property.

“As I said in my statement to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the money found in the safe is mine. The money was not received in bulk; it was received in tranches of not more than $10,000 and not more than £5,000.

“And the substantial part of the amount was given to me after I left office and it was given to me on the occasions of birthday, thanksgiving service and other celebration I hosted after leaving office.

“Yes, it also included marriages of my daughters. Approximately, the substantial amount of about over 98 per cent was given to me.

“The purpose of keeping the money is actually because since it came to me unplanned, the plan was to think of business venture I will embark on after my retirement.

“Since the money was given to me unexpected, I kept the money in the safe pending when I will decide on the business venture to embark on. As soon as that decision is crystalised, the business will be funded through a financial institution.

“For over 25 years, I had reasons, by reason of my schedule, to be in many parts of the world, outside Nigeria. So, I was entitled to estacode in U.S dollars.

“And any savings I made during the trip, I came back with whatever I have and saved it. The money I saved from my travel constitutes two per cent of the money.”

During cross-examination by the prosecutor, Mohammed Abubakar, Yakubu said he joined the service of NNPC in 1980 and became the Managing Director of Warri Petrochemical and Refining Company Limited in 2007.

The witness said he was appointed Executive Director in charge of Exploration and Production at NNPC headquarters in 2011, became the GMD in 2012 and retired in 2014.

Yakubu said his brother, Bitrus Yakubu, was present when EFCC officials searched his home in Kaduna, where the money was found.

“I was told that the EFCC stormed into my property, took the safe and asked my brother to accompany them. When I reported at the EFCC office in Kano, my brother was there,” he said.

When asked how many statements he made to the EFCC while being interrogated, Yakubu said two, but when confronted with copies of the statement, they turned out to be four.

Yakubu explained that he initially said two because he made the statements about four years ago and had forgotten their number.

At a point Raji objected to Abubakar asking the defendant a question on a document relating to the ongoing trial of businessman, Olajide Omokore, as well as others before another court.

Yakubu had testified as a prosecution witness in the case.

Raji argued that the content of the document did not relate to counts three and four, which are now left in the original six-count charge on which Yakubu was arraigned in 2017.

He said by virtue of the April 24, 2020 judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, the defendant was only required to enter his defence in relation to counts three and four and, therefore, could not be asked questions on a document that has no link with the two counts.

But Abubakar insisted that the documents are connected to the two surviving counts in the charge.

He was still making his submission when the trial judge, Justice Ahmed Mohammed, noted that both lawyers had taken much of the court’s time.

Justice Mohammed adjourned till July 22 for the prosecution to conclude his reply on the defence’s objection to cross-examining the defendant on “Exhibit J”.