EFCC grills G.M, pilot over N1.219billion conveyed to Fayose

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has quizzed the General Manager of an airline, Mr. Jide West, that allegedly conveyed N1.219billion to embattled governor Ayodele Fayose.

West, told the anti-graft agency that former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro paid $25,200 for both flights that took him and his accomplices from Lagos to Akure and Akure to Abuja.

The money was alleged to be part of the N4.7bn transferred from the account of the Office of the National Security Adviser to the bank account of Sylvan McNamara, a company allegedly owned by Obanikoro’s two sons- Babajide and Gbolahan.

Similarly,  the pilot of the chartered aircraft, Captain Ahmed Borodo, who was grilled last week, told the EFCC that his company ordered him to get his craft ready at about 7am to convey Obanikoro from Lagos to Akure on June 17, 2014 at 8.30am on an HS-125 aircraft, along with his colleagues including one Capt. Olubiyi Famuyiwa.

He disclosed that Obanikoro’s aides arrived at the tarmac with some bullion vans and started offloading the contents which were in big green tarpaulin bags, and due to the size of the aircraft, only about eight bags were conveyed despite the plea from Obanikoro to increase the number.

The chartered flight had departed Lagos with Obanikoro,  his friend and Aide-de-Camp, Lt. Adewale and on arriving Akure, Fayose’s friend, Abiodun Agbele, who is currently in the EFCC custody, and a team of soldiers received them and the bags were offloaded and put into a bullion van belonging to Zenith Bank Plc.