The trial of former Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Alex Badeh continued at the federal high court in Abuja on Wednesday with the testimony of another prosecution witness, Mustapha Yerima.
Yerima, the Managing Director, Ryte Builders Nigeria Limited, further explained how monies were allegedly diverted from the Nigerian Air Force account to construct a shopping mall for Badeh.
At the resumed hearing before Justice Okon Abang, Yerima, who had previously narrated how he purchased the 3060sqm land on which the shopping mall is built at the sum of N650million, explained that he made the purchase in the name of his company, and later transferred the documents following directives from another aide of Badeh named Yushau.
Yushau had earlier testified against Badeh as Prosecution Witness, PW 1
According to Yerima, “They (Yushau and Badeh) did not want to get involved directly, so they asked me to purchase the land for them.
He added that the land had previously belonged to one Fayose Ayodele when they obtained the Certificate of Occupancy but he could not remember the name of the company that the land documents were transferred to because Yushau had deliberately refused to give him the name.
Yerima explained how the shopping mall was built, saying he submitted a bill of N1.2 billion to Yushau for the construction of the plaza.
“Yushau gave me N408 million, at first, and another N300million in dollar equivalent as mobilization costs. He explained that subsequent payments would be made from the Nigerian Air Force. I also received N9million for pre-contract expenses,” Yerima added.
He also said that he had given the EFCC a list of the payments he received from the Nigerian Air Force, which totalled N864 million.
Badeh is standing trial alongside Iyalikam Nigeria Limited for allegedly abusing his office as Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, by using the dollar equivalent of the sum of N1.4billion removed from the accounts of the Nigerian Air Force to purchase properties in choice areas of Abuja between January and December, 2013.