Dasuki Signed ₦33.2bn Payment Mandates, EFCC Witness Tells Court

EFCC Witness has told court that Dasuki signed ₦33.2bn payment mandates.

 

NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the prosecution witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday told an Abuja High Court that former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd.), personally signed the payment mandates authorising the transfer of billions of naira to two companies linked to his ongoing trial.

Dasuki is standing trial on an amended 32-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and dishonest handling of public funds amounting to ₦33.2 billion, allegedly diverted from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

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He is being prosecuted alongside former NNPC General Manager, Aminu Baba-Kusa, and two companies — Acacia Holdings Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited.

The EFCC re-arraigned the defendants on March 25, 2025, in connection with the alleged diversion of ₦10 billion in foreign currencies from the NSA’s account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), purportedly used for the 2014 PDP presidential primaries.

At the resumed hearing, EFCC detective Adariku Michael, the first prosecution witness (PW1), told the court that his team had written to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to verify the ownership details of the companies involved.

He stated that the CAC’s response, admitted in evidence, revealed that the second defendant, Baba-Kusa, was the owner of Acacia Holdings Limited and Arabcaria Farms Ltd, while Reliance Referral Hospital Ltd was partly owned by his wife.

“Our investigation showed that the 2nd defendant owned Acacia Holdings and Arabcaria Farms. His wife is also a major shareholder in Reliance Referral Hospital,” Michael testified.

He further disclosed that Zenith Bank received multiple payment instructions from ONSA directing debits from the agency’s operational account.

“The payment mandates authorised transfers of ₦600 million and ₦750 million to Acacia Holdings’ UBA account, as well as payments to Ecobank and Reliance Referral Hospital’s account in First Bank,” he said.

According to the witness, Dasuki personally signed all the payment mandates, and an additional ₦200 million was traced from ONSA to Acacia Holdings’ UBA account.

Defence counsel, A.A. Usman (for Dasuki), Solomon Umoh, SAN (for Baba-Kusa and Acacia Holdings), and A.O. Ayodele (for Reliance Referral Hospital) reserved their objections for a later stage.

Justice Charles Agbaza adjourned the matter until January 13, 2026, for continuation of the hearing.