by Azeez Adeniyi

A Police officer, Victor Ehiabhi on Tuesday told the Federal High Court in Abuja that he helped former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode receive N26million from Office of the National Security Adviser in 2014.

The witness told the court that he was deployed from the bureau’s Very Important Persons Protection Unit, to serve as Fani-Kayode’s security aide, just before the 2015 Presidential election.

He said he was accompanied by Fani-Kayode’s domestic staff to receive the money from office of the NSA at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

“On November 21, 2014, on that fateful day, my principal travelled out of town and he detailed me to be within town.

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“The gardener and other domestic staff were also around within the premises. The house is at Aso Drive Abuja.

“One of the gardeners, called Francis, called me on phone and told me that the defendant had called him on phone that I should accompany him (Francis) and another domestic staff, Esther, to the National Security Adviser’s office at the Villa.

“And not too long after, the defendant himself called me and told me the same thing.

“The driver named Kenneth was directed to drive us to the venue.

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“We moved to the venue at Suleiman Barawo Street in the Villa.

“While at the venue, the driver, Kenneth, and the gardener, Francis, were asked to stay in the compound while I and Esther walked into the building.

“We identified ourselves as personnel of the defendant.

“The staff in the office asked who was Victor. I answered I was the one.

“They asked me to tender my identity card and I did.

“The man in the office brought out a paper and asked me to endorse it on behalf of the defendant.

“The sum of the N26m was written on the document for the defendant.

“I initially decided not to endorse the document on behalf of the defendant.

“But the man in the office insisted that since I was the policeman I should be the one to endorse the document, so I signed it.

“The man in the office brought out the sum of N26m in N1,000 denominations, and put it in one ‘Ghana-Must-Go’ bag. He gave it to us, Esther and I, for the defendant.

“We took it out of the office and beckoned on Francis and Kenneth to take it to the booth.

“So we departed from the house and departed to house of the defendant with the money.

“On getting to the house, we took it inside the house.

“As of the time the money was taken to the house, the defendant had not returned. As I said earlier he had travelled out of town.”

The witness said Fani-Kayode thanked him and others who helped moved the money when he returned.

The former minister is facing a five-count charge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for allegedly receiving N26m from former NSA, Sambo Dasuki.