From Godwin Tsa, Abuja

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday told a Federal High Court in Abuja how Chief Raymond Dokpesi and his Daar Investment and Holdings Company Limited received N2.1 billion from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in 2015, without award or execution of any contract.
The revelations before Justice John Tsoho came through the fifth prosecution witness, Mr. Osaz Ozanobor, who is a detective with the anti-graft agency.
Testifying yesterday in the ongoing trial of Dokpesi, Ozanobor said documents obtained by the EFCC investigation team from ONSA showed that the office did not award any contract to the company, but paid N2.1 billion into its account between January and March 2015.
In addition, the witness further told the court that investigations at the Bureau of Public Procurement also revealed there was no record showing the award of contract to Daar Investment and Holdings company Limited or any contract bidding process in which the company participated.
Dokpesi and his company are standing trial on six counts bordering on N2.1 billion which they allegedly received from the Office of the National Security Adviser between January and March 2015.
The prosecution accused the defendants of money laundering and other charges relating to procurement fraud against them by allegedly receiving N2.12 billion from ONSA to prosecute Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP)2015 presidential media campaign.
Testifying yesterday, the witness, who was led by Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), the prosecution counsel, stated: “Sometimes in 2015, the Acting Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, formed a team to investigate the misappropriation of public funds by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
“In the course of investigation, it was discovered that money was paid into the account of Daar Investments and Holding Company Ltd by the ONSA.
“My team wrote a letter to the ONSA requesting details concerning the payments to Daar Investment and Holdings and if the company had contract with the ONSA.
“The Office of the National Security Adviser responded to our letter by stating that series of payments were made to Daar Investment and Holdings Company Ltd to the tune of N2.1 billion and there was no evidence showing that the office received any proposal from the company for the 2015 Presidential Media Campaign Initiative.
“The mandate of the payment was also attached to the response from ONSA. The documents containing the correspondence between the EFCC investigation team and ONSA were tendered in court by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), and were admitted as exhibits by the court after the defence counsel, Kanu Agabi (SAN) did not object to their admissibility.