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Ex-AG-F Idris returned $900,000 cash, witness tells court

Published

4 years ago

November 24, 2022

Suspended Accountant-General of the Federation (AG-F), Ahmed Idris

A HIGH Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Maitama heard yesterday that the suspended Accountant-General of the Federation (AG-F), Ahmed Idris, voluntarily returned about $900,000 in cash.

The witness said the returned cash was part of the public funds allegedly diverted by the embattled AG-F.

Idris is standing trial for alleged missing N109 billion public funds under his watch.

The court also heard how N84.7 billion was taken from the $2.2 billion due to the nine oil-producing states, and shared by some senior government officials.

An official of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Hayatudeen Ahmed, made the disclosure while testifying at the trial of Idris and three others.

The suspended accountant-general; his former Technical Assistant, Godfrey Olusegun Akindele; a director in the Office of the AG-F, Mohammed Kudu Usman, and a firm linked with Idris – Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited – are being tried on a 14-count charge of stealing and criminal breach of trust to the tune of N109 billion.

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Ahmed, who testified as the first prosecution witness, was led in evidence by Rotimi Jacobs (SAN). He gave details of how his team investigated a petition in which Idris was accused of abuse of his office and compromised government’s platforms, such as the Treasury Single Account (TSA), the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIVMIS), among others.

The witness said when Idris was confronted with facts, “he (Idris) returned $900,000, less $100 ($899,900) voluntarily, which has now formed part of exhibit in the case.

He said out of the N84.7 billion that was shared among some government officials, N32 billion has been recovered so far.

The witness also told the court how Idris allegedly hired his ex-aide, Akindele, as a consultant to distribute N84.3 bilion out of the N84.7 billion.

He said Akindele later gave Idris N4.2b in appreciation for his engagement as the consultant to handle the distribution of the money.

The witness said: “After the petition was assigned to our team, investigation commenced. We wrote to banks, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and other government agencies.

“From analysis of bank documents received, we discovered that a Baita Kura of B. I. Kura Enterprises, a bureau de change operator, made several deposits of money amounting to N280 million between 2019 and 2021 into the account of the fourth defendant – Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Ltd.

“Based on this finding, Baita was invited. He admitted in his statement that those monies that he paid into the first defendant’s (Idris’) account, were given to him by the first defendant.

“We discovered that the payments made were on the instruction of the first defendant.

“We also discovered from other bank statements analysis that a certain Architect Mustapha Muktar of Marcs and Construction Ltd received various sums from Baita Kura, amounting to about N866 million.

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“Based on this, we invited Architect Mustapha, who gave statement and explained that the money he received from Baita were on the instruction of the first defendant.”

The witness claimed Mustapha said Idris asked him to use the money for the construction of the Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange in Gezawa Town, Kano.

He said his team learnt of the agitation by the nine oil producing states about the lack of deductions of 13 per cent derivation accrued to them from the Excess Crude Account (ECA).

The witness added: “It was discovered further that this agitation was tabled before the Post-mortem sub-committee of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

“The committee deliberated on the request and came up with a figure of about $2.2b as what was due to the nine oil-producing states. And, that deductions for this payment would be made over a 60-month period.

“A total of 11.5 per cent of the total sum, which is equivalent N84.7 billion, was set aside as facilitation for some public officials to approve and release the request. This was done under the guise of consultancy.

“The services of Olusegun Akindele & Co, a firm belonging to the second defendant (Akindele), was used for this purpose.

“The proprietor of Olusegun Akindele & Co is the second defendant – Godfrey Olusegun Akindele, who was until recently, a staff of the office of the AG-F and a technical assistant to the first defendant.

“The account of Olusegun Akindele & Co received the cumulative sum of N84.3 billion, representing 9.8 per cent, less taxes from the 11.5 per cent that was set aside earlier.

“He received the money in his First Bank account, from the FAAC withheld Escrow account, under the control of the first and third defendants (Idris and Usman).

“The third defendant is Mohammed Kudu Usman, a former director in the office of the AG-F.

“When the statement of account of Olusegun Akindele & Co was received, we analysed it and found that after the receipt of N84.3 billion, it was shared among five groups.

“The first group was the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) group, represented by a commissioner in the commission, by name Chris Akumas. It received 2.2 per cent out of 9.8 per cent, which amounted to N18.7 billion.

“After the second defendant received the money, he converted the amount to United States (U.S.) dollars and handed same to Chris Akumas for members of that group.

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“The second group is the accountant-general group, represented by the first defendant, which received N18.1 billion, equivalent of 2.1 per cent

“Some of these funds were also converted to U.S. dollars and handed to the first defendant. From the second group, the third defendant received about N1.8b equivalent in U.S. dollars.

“The third group is that of the Commissioners of Finance of the nine oil-producing states, which received 2.5 percent amount to N21.4 billion. This same amount was converted to U.S. dollars by the second defendant and given to Chris Akumas for the group.

“There was the Abdulaziz Yari group, represented by the former governor of Zamfara State, Abdulazid Yari. This group got N17.15 billion, representing two per cent.

“Payment to this group was made to a company nominated by Yari, known as Fintes Consultancy Ltd. This was not paid in dollars. It was transferred to the company’s account on the instructions of ex-governor Yari.

“The last group is the group of the consultant, who got about 1.04 per cent, amounting to N8.9 billion, out of which he converted about N4.2 billion to U.S. dollars and handed to the first defendant as appreciation for nominating him as the consultant. The consultant benefited about N4.6 billion.

“The second defendant was invited and he made statement. He admitted to receiving and sharing the money as I had stated.

“These funds were also traced to the purchase of properties, both commercial and residential in several parts of Kano, the FCT, and Minna in Niger State.

“So far, the sum of $2.7 million, less $100, has been recovered in cash from the first, second and third defendants. As at today, N32b has been recovered from the five groups.

“From the accountant-general group, $2.7 million, less 100 dollars, was recovered. N304m was also recovered from the group.

“Another N50 million was recovered from the third defendant, who is part of this group, in addition to properties recovered.

“The bulk of the N32 billion was recovered from the first, second and third groups.

“The sum of about N3b was traced to the construction of the commodity market at Gezawa Town, Kano, from funds received by the first defendant from the second and fifth groups.

“N504 million was also traced to the reconstruction of Alikhlas Supermarket also known as Kano City Mall, belonging to the first defendant, located at Mandarin area of Kano.

“In relation to the $2.7 million less than $100, the sum of $1.8 million cash was recovered from persons who received the $1.8 million from the first defendant.

“$900,000 less $100 was recovered from the first defendant himself, who returned same voluntarily.

“He returned it in cash, which has been received and registered as exhibit in this case by the commission,” the witness said.

Although lawyers to the defendants – Chris Uche, Joe Abraham, Mohammed Ndayako and Gordy Uche (all SANs) objected, Justice Halilu Yusuf admitted in evidence the petition written against Idris and Akindele’s firm’s account statements.

They, however, objected to the admission of the defendants’ statements, which they claimed were obtained under inducement and duress.

Upon defence lawyers’ request, Justice Yusuf agreed to conduct trial within trial to ascertain the voluntariness or otherwise of the statements.

He adjourned till January 30 for the commencement of the trial within trial.

The Nation

Related Topics:court Ex-AG-F Featured Idris

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MURIC Urges FG to Suspend NYSC Scheme, Discharge 20 Freed Corps Members

Published

1 hour ago

October 9, 2026

Trends Admin

MURIC’s Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola

MURIC Urges FG to Suspend NYSC Scheme, Discharge 20 Freed Corps Members

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called on the Federal Government to suspend the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme until the country’s worsening insecurity is brought under control.

The Islamic human rights organisation also demanded the immediate discharge of 20 corps members recently released after spending a week in the custody of kidnappers in Imo State.

MURIC urged the government to issue the affected corps members their NYSC discharge certificates and pay them the allowances they would have received throughout the 2026/2027 service year as compensation for their ordeal.

The group’s Founder and Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, made the demands in a press release issued on Friday, October 9, 2026.

Akintola said the abduction of the corps members had highlighted the security challenges facing participants in the national service scheme, arguing that young Nigerians should not be exposed to such risks while fulfilling their national obligations.

MURIC welcomed the release of the 20 corps members and expressed gratitude for their safe return, while congratulating their parents and families.

The organisation, however, said the traumatic experience of the freed corps members and others who had suffered similar ordeals warranted a review of the scheme’s operation amid persistent insecurity.

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According to Akintola, insecurity has become the scheme’s greatest challenge, placing the Federal Government under an obligation to protect young Nigerians participating in national service.

He argued that the government had a responsibility, in its capacity as a guardian, to ensure the safety of corps members deployed to different parts of the country.

“However, in view of the apparent inability to do this, at least presently, we demand the suspension of the NYSC scheme until FG is able to take full control of the security situation in the country,” he said.

The group also insisted that the 20 freed corps members should not be required to continue their service after their reported week-long ordeal in captivity.

MURIC proposed that the affected individuals be formally discharged and compensated with the allowances they would otherwise have earned during the entire 2026/2027 service year.

The organisation said its demands were aimed at protecting young Nigerians from further exposure to kidnapping and other security threats associated with national service.

The call comes amid renewed concerns over the safety of corps members travelling to their places of deployment, particularly in areas affected by kidnapping and other security challenges.

The NYSC scheme, established in 1973, requires eligible Nigerian graduates to undertake a year of national service, including deployment to states other than their places of origin in many cases.

MURIC’s proposal would require a major policy decision by the Federal Government and the relevant authorities responsible for administering the scheme.

The government had yet to respond to the demands contained in the statement at the time of this report.

MURIC Urges FG to Suspend NYSC Scheme, Discharge 20 Freed Corps Members

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MTN Network Outage Hits Lagos, Abuja, Four Other Areas as NCC Reports Service Restoration

Published

3 hours ago

October 9, 2026

Trends Admin

MTN Network Outage Hits Lagos, Abuja, Four Other Areas as NCC Reports Service Restoration

MTN Nigeria subscribers experienced service disruptions across parts of Lagos, Oyo, Rivers and Delta states, as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), following a network outage that affected calls, internet access and other telecommunications services.

The disruption was reported on Thursday, October 8, prompting the telecommunications operator to alert customers that some services might be temporarily unavailable while its technical team worked to resolve the problem.

MTN announced the outage in a notice posted on its official X account, identifying the affected areas as parts of Oyo, Lagos, Rivers, the FCT and Delta states.

The company said its engineers were working to restore normal services as quickly as possible and appealed to customers for patience.

In a subsequent message, the operator apologised to subscribers experiencing difficulties and reiterated that its technical team was addressing the problem.

The disruption affected key telecommunications services, with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) reporting interruptions to voice calls, text messages, data and short-code services.

According to an incident update published by the NCC, the outage was recorded at about 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, with the regulator initially classifying the disruption as a major outage.

The NCC’s incident information attributed the problem to high temperatures at an MTN data centre. The regulator subsequently reported that data and fibre services were affected in Ibadan, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Asaba.

However, neither MTN nor the regulator disclosed the number of subscribers affected by the disruption.

The outage raised concerns among customers who depend on mobile connectivity for business communications, online banking, digital payments, remote work and other everyday activities.

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For businesses that rely on internet access and telephone services to communicate with customers, even temporary network interruptions can delay transactions and disrupt operations.

MTN did not initially provide a specific timeline for restoring all affected services, leaving subscribers waiting for further updates from the company.

However, the NCC subsequently marked the incident as resolved. In an update checked at about 6:29 a.m. on Friday, October 9, the regulator’s incident history stated that power had been restored and all services were back.

The restoration notice provided an indication that the disruption had been addressed, although the regulator did not disclose how many customers had been affected or provide a breakdown of the impact across the affected locations.

The outage also coincided with MTN’s ongoing airtime compensation exercise for eligible subscribers affected by poor network quality recorded between February and April 2026, following directives from telecommunications regulators.

The compensation exercise relates to earlier service failures and is separate from the October 8 outage. MTN had not announced whether subscribers affected by the latest incident would receive additional compensation.

The latest disruption has again drawn attention to the importance of reliable telecommunications infrastructure as Nigerians increasingly depend on mobile networks for communication, financial transactions, education and commercial activities.

MTN has said its engineers are working to resolve service problems as quickly as possible, while the NCC continues to monitor reported network incidents through its service-disruption platform.

Subscribers experiencing persistent difficulties despite the reported restoration may contact MTN customer care or monitor the company’s official channels for further updates.

MTN Network Outage Hits Lagos, Abuja, Four Other Areas as NCC Reports Service Restoration

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[UPDATED] Lagos Train Crash: 55-Year-Old Motorist Survives as Honda Car Is Wrecked at PWD Crossing

Published

3 hours ago

October 9, 2026

Trends Admin

Lagos Train Crash: Panic as Train Smashes Honda Car at PWD Crossing, Many Feared Dead

[UPDATED] Lagos Train Crash: 55-Year-Old Motorist Survives as Honda Car Is Wrecked at PWD Crossing

A 55-year-old motorist escaped unhurt after a moving train collided with his Honda car at the PWD railway crossing in Ikeja, Lagos, on Friday morning, October 9, 2026.

The collision occurred at about 6:54 a.m. along the Agege Motorway, involving a train travelling towards Agege and a Honda car with registration number EKY 902 JT.

The impact extensively damaged the car, leaving it virtually written off. However, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) confirmed that the driver survived without injuries and that no casualty was recorded at the scene.

LASTMA operatives and security personnel swiftly intervened after the collision, rescuing the motorist and removing the wrecked vehicle from the railway track.

Their coordinated response cleared the obstruction and allowed the train to continue its journey towards Agege.

Despite the removal of the vehicle, traffic congestion persisted around the PWD axis, disrupting movement along the affected corridor during the morning rush hour.

The wrecked Honda was subsequently handed over to security personnel for further investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding the collision.

The incident had initially raised fears of possible fatalities after reports emerged that a train had smashed into a car at the busy railway crossing. However, the latest information from LASTMA confirmed that the driver survived without injury.

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Reacting to the incident, LASTMA General Manager, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, commended the agency’s operatives and security personnel for their prompt and coordinated response.

He stressed the importance of cooperation among emergency responders in managing incidents involving railway operations and adjoining road infrastructure.

Bakare-Oki also urged motorists to exercise extreme caution when approaching railway crossings and designated train corridors, warning against attempting to cross the tracks when a train is approaching or already in motion.

He noted that disregarding railway safety regulations could result in devastating and irreversible consequences.

LASTMA appealed to motorists and other road users to obey traffic instructions, warning signs and railway safety regulations, emphasising that responsible driving and caution could prevent avoidable accidents.

The crash has renewed attention on safety at railway crossings in Lagos, particularly at busy intersections where road traffic and train operations share the same corridor.

The PWD railway crossing has witnessed fatal incidents in the past. In October 2025, a dispatch rider died after colliding with a moving train at the crossing in Ikeja. Preliminary findings at the time indicated that the rider attempted to cross the tracks while travelling at excessive speed.

Another major incident occurred in March 2023, when a train collided with a Lagos State Government staff bus, killing six people and injuring about 96 others.

Those incidents involved different circumstances from Friday’s collision, in which LASTMA confirmed that the motorist survived without injury.

Motorists are advised to approach railway crossings cautiously, obey warning signals and never attempt to cross when a train is approaching. Trains require considerable stopping distances and may be unable to avoid vehicles obstructing the tracks.