The allegation was made by a former Executive Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Aminu Baba-Kusa in a statement of witness filed at an Abuja High Court.
According to reports, the Goodluck Jonathan administration spent N2.2 billion on special prayers against terrorist sect, Boko Haram.
The allegation was made by a former Executive Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Aminu Baba-Kusa in a statement of witness filed at an Abuja High Court, The Nation reports.
According to him, the money was released in two installments of N1,450,000,000 and N750,000,000.
Baba-Kusa is being tried along with former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki in connection with the $2.1 billion arms deal fraud.
He said:
“I approached the former NSA and discussed Boko Haram problems and I suggested there is need for prayers and he considered and accepted in 2013 when he first came to office.
“I personally sponsored many people locally and some few to Saudi Arabia. Some monies were later paid into our companies, which we paid to some of the mallams. I then arranged to recover my personal expense which I put into our own businesses.
“I used some of the mallams to organise in Abuja, Zaria, Kano, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Kaduna and Saudi Arabia covering 2013 to 2015. I give them funds as required from time to time, ranging from N500,000 to N30million, depending on their needs, traveling, sadaqat and others for local expenses and travels to Saudi Arabia for Umrah and Hajj.
“I reminded the NSA many times before payments were made. We grew up together with the former NSA with common friends in ABU. Most of the payments in cash were meant to give out cash to people that have been organising prayers. Some transfers to Acacia to other banks were for logistics and also to some mallams in cash.”
“The proposal made to the former NSA was not documented by him or myself. The verbal proposal to him was for prayers to overcome Boko Haram within the shortest possible time. The engagement for prayers by organising some people to be praying was not formally written down.
“There was no amount of money agreed on. I said to him, I will start organising, which he agreed and said he will see what he would give at a later time.”
Baba-Kusa is also said to have promised to refund the money after disposing of some assets.
Dasuki is at the center of the massive money laundering investigation and is alleged to have supervised the looting of the funds which were meant for the procurement of arms for Nigeria’s military.
He was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) on December 1, 2015 and handed over to the EFCC the day after.
READ: Buhari orders Dasuki’s arrest
The former NSA is reported to have implicated several prominent persons in the deal including former governors, ex-ministers and members of the PDP.
READ: Dasuki has started confessing
Dasuki was released on bail from Kuje Prison in December 2015 but was soon re-arrested by the DSS.