Yusuf, a retired civil servant and former Deputy Director and Head of Procurement Department while Oronsanye was Head of Service testified as Oronsanye faces trial for N2 billion, fraud case, involving illegal contract awards.

The EFCC is prosecuting Oronsanye along with the managing director, Fredrick Hamilton Global Services Limited, Osarenkhoe Afe, both of whom are alleged to be involved in several illegal contract awards, amounting to the said sum, during Oronsanye’s tenure as HoS.

While being led in evidence, the prosecution counsel, O. A. Atolagbe, the PW12 stated that his department was responsible for overseeing the execution of various contracts in the Office of the Head of Service and added that there were laid down procedures before a contract was awarded to any contractor.

“Once a request was identified for supply or service, advertisements are made to call in qualified contractors. A bid process is carried out to ascertain suitably qualified contractors, who had scored on technicality and financials. After presentations are made and evaluation is done, the responses are forwarded to the HoS for approvals.

“After my retirement in 2014, I was approached by the EFCC and questioned in regards to a “letter of award for N2billion and I told them that all awards for contracts were done in line of the directives from Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), although the BPP grants the contractors a certificate, authenticating the contract and the contractor after a job is completed. The BPP also issues out a letter of completion, however, the HoS reserves the right to re-advertise any job that has not been completed”, he stated.

According to him, “in the case of the award letters, which was Prosecution Witness 3, (PW3A) exhibit, the award letters dated July 5, 2010, for contract of data biometrics that was meant for the capturing of pensioners in the 36 states of the federation; the vouchers were raised and payment made to several companies, including N161million, paid to Innovative Solutions, a company that bid the contract adding that the beneficiaries were paid after a schedule of payment was made.

“I was however, not aware of the payment for enrolment for biometrics as these contracts were not processed through my office, even though I was still the Director of Procurement as of that time. Bearing in mind, that all contracts are channelled to the Procurement Department for proper capturing”, PW12 stated.

During cross-examination of the PW12 by the defence counsel Joe Agi and counsel for Afe and Fredrick Hamilton Global Services, Limited, Oluwole Aladedoye, it was inquired if PW12 was the accounting officer of the project and if he knew that the contract was extended and each extension attracted cost for works and resources.

However, PW12 told the court that he has never seen the award letter and that the Procurement Department follows due processes before tendering a bid and awarding contracts, “so, there was no way, I would not have been in the know”, he stated.

Justice Ekwo, adjourned the case till October 22, 2019 for continuation of trial.

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Oronsaye is standing trial for an alleged N2 billion pension fraud, along with Osarenkhoe Afe, managing director, Fredrick Hamilton Global Services Limited.

At the resumed sitting Tuesday, Oluwole Aladedoye, counsel for Afe and Fredrick Hamilton, cross-examined Rouqayya Ibrahim, an EFCC operative, who testified as the first prosecution witness.

Aladedoye confronted the witness with an advertisement from the Office of the HoS calling for verification of pensioners across the 36 states of the Federation, including Abuja, in 38 designations centres, and questioned Ibrahim whether she interviewed any such pensioner.

“In the course of our investigations, we investigated fake pensioners, and their statements were taken, and at the moment some of them are standing trial,” she said, and told the court that she did not know of any such advert.

Ibrahim further explained that her team of investigators investigated biometric contracts particularly, “the contracts surrounding the verification and other related contracts”.

“Our investigation also revealed that a number of them did not carry out any contract for payments received,” she added.

Aladedoye, thereafter confronted the witness with Exhibit 1a, a statement made by Afe in the course of investigations, and urged the Court to provide her with a piece of paper and pen, for her to write out the cautionary words in the statement, since according to him, “she said she obtained the statement from him”.

The request was, however, objected to by prosecuting counsel, O.A. Atolagbe, arguing that the issue of the statement had already been decided by the court after the conclusion of a trial-within-trial.

“The counsel cannot have a second bite on the cherry, the court having ruled on the admissibility of the statement,” he argued, stressing that allowing the question to suffice will amount to “going round in circles”.

Citing Section 101 of the Evidence Act, Aladedoye, however, further argued that it was in order for the Court to allow for signature, writing or seal or fingerprint may be compared with one to be proved.

“Our case is that she did not obtain the statement as she claims, and what we seek to do is permissible in Law,” he said.

Justice Kolawole, thereafter overruled the request of the prosecution, and ordered a paper be given to the witness to write out in her own handwriting, the cautionary words. It was admitted by the Court as Exhibit 1c.

Under cross-examination, Ibrahim further reiterated that Abdulrasheed Maina, a former chairman of the Presidential Task Team on Pension Reforms, was still wanted by the EFCC to answer for pension fraud allegations against him.

Her affirmation came after Aladedoye presented a photocopy of page 20 of the Punch Newspapers, dated January 20, 2012 , titled, “N151 billion fraud uncovered in Pension Offices”.

“They are at liberty to write whatever they like, but it has nothing to do with our investigations,” she said.

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Oronsaye is standing trial along with Osarenkhoe Afe, managing director, Fredrick Hamilton Global Services Limited, and both are alleged to be complicit in several contract awards during his tenure as HoS.

Ade Okeaya-Inneh, SAN, lead counsel for Oronsaye at the proceeding of December 12, 2017, moved the motion dated November 11, 2017 and filed on same day, applying that he be granted the said permission.

In granting the application, the trial judge ruled that: “The DCI litigation of the Federal High Court, shall release the international passport of the defendant through his counsel, and he is permitted to travel to India from now till on or before January 31, 2018 and return his passport to the DCI pending the determination of the criminal charge”.

Earlier in the course of proceeding, Justice Kolawole upheld the objection of Oluwole Aladedoye, counsel for Afe, challenging the admissibility of a document which the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, sought to tender at the last sitting of December 5, 2017.

The document, which included the audit report of the Office of the HoS, made by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation, was in response to the request of the investigative team probing the pension fraud in the HoS office. The prosecution had sought to tender the document, which came with a cover letter dated June 25, 2016 and signed by the Auditor General of the Federation.

Aladedoye, in raising an objection to the admissibility of the evidence to be tendered, cited Section 83 of the Evidence Act, noting that while he did not object to the admissibility of the letter which was signed, he “objected to the admissibility of the accompanying document as it has no author, and was no signed by anyone”.

Invariably, the trial judge admitted the cover letter as Exhibit 3, but marked the accompanying audit report as ‘Rejected Exhibit A’.

A set of evidence, which included bank documents from Zenith Bank, relating to the financial transactions linked to Innovative Solutions Limited, Kate Chinwe Obikwe, Ibrahim Abdulkareem, and Uptrack Communications, which were deemed complicit in the pension fraud, were also objected to. The defence argued that the documents dated January 13, 2011 and June 13, 2016 did not meet the requirements of the Evidence Act, as it relates to bankers note.

The prosecution had sought to tender the documents through its witness, Roukayya Ibrahim, an EFCC operative. Subsequently, the prosecution withdrew the documents.

Meanwhile, the trial judge has adjourned the case to February 20, 21 and 22, 2018.

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