₦33.2bn arms fraud: EFCC witness details flow of ONSA funds to private accounts

The trial of a former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), over an alleged ₦33.2 billion arms procurement fraud continued on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, before Justice C.O. Agbaza of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Maitama, Abuja.

At the resumed hearing, the first prosecution witness, Dr. Michael Adariku, an investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), gave detailed testimony on how funds were allegedly transferred from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to private individuals and companies.

Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), Adariku told the court that on April 17, 2015, ₦600 million was transferred from ONSA’s Zenith Bank account to Acacia Holdings Limited. He said the beneficiary account had a balance of just ₦27,094.49 before the transfer.

The witness further testified that on April 23, 2015, ₦60 million was transferred to Hidayatul Atfaaf Islamic Academy. According to him, the proprietor of the academy, Mohammed Bashir, confirmed during EFCC interrogation that the money was part payment for the purchase of 3.62 hectares of land in Kyami District, Abuja, allegedly acquired by the second defendant, Aminu Baba Kusa, a former general manager of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

On the same date, the witness said ₦25 million was paid in tranches to Zavati BDC Limited, which was allegedly linked to the purchase of a hospitality property valued at ₦40 million, with the balance paid through an agent identified as Ibrahim Saleh Uba.

Adariku told the court that additional transfers totalling ₦124 million were made on April 24, 2015, without clear descriptions of their purposes. He also detailed multiple payments made on April 27, 2015, including funds allegedly used for land documentation, survey fees and part payment for over 118 hectares of land in Kwali, Abuja.

According to the witness, on April 28, 2015, ₦55.9 million was transferred to Fastman Investment Limited. He said the company’s chief executive, Farouk Suleiman, confirmed that the funds were connected to a transaction involving the transfer of $630,000 to a client in Saudi Arabia, following instructions allegedly linked to the second defendant.

The witness further testified that several other transfers were made from the ONSA account to individuals and companies, including Medical Practice Limited, allegedly owned by the wife of the second defendant. He said that between April 1 and May 6, 2015, a total of ₦150 million was transferred to the company.

Adariku also told the court that funds were converted into foreign currencies and transferred to accounts in the United Kingdom. He said ₦23.6 million sent to Namuduka Ventures Limited was converted to $200,000 and transferred to a UK account linked to the second defendant. Additional sums, he said, were converted to euros and transferred to other UK accounts associated with the defendant.

The court heard that the alleged transactions occurred between April and May 2015.

Justice Agbaza adjourned the matter to January 14, 2026, for continuation of trial.

Dasuki is standing trial alongside Aminu Baba Kusa, Acacia Holdings Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited on a 32-count charge of breach of trust and dishonest appropriation of public funds amounting to ₦33.2 billion.

The defendants were re-arraigned by the EFCC in March 2025.