New revelations have been made as suspects in the Kaduna pension scam go on trial over their roles in the sordid deed.
Michael Wetkas, a witness in the ongoing trial former Kaduna State
Pension Bureau consultant, Ibrahim Mohammed Sodangi, yesterday
presented startling evidence on how the consultant smuggled his name
into the pension payroll and started drawing benefits like a bona fide
pensioner.
According to PM News, Michael Wetkas, an operative of the EFCC,
while being led in evidence by prosecution counsel Sylvanus Tahir, told
the court that, in the course of investigation into the matter, analysis
of the account opening package and statements of account furnished the
Commission by Keystone Bank and First City Monument Bank revealed that
Sodangi used his accounts to receive funds under the guise of being a
pensioner of the Kaduna State government.
The investigation was triggered by a petition written by a group named, “movement for better future”, which
alleged massive fraud in the Kaduna State Pension Bureau. The
petitioners alleged that the then management of the Bureau conspired
with the consultant to steal pension fund through enrolment of ghost
pensioners.
They identified some of the ghost pensioners to include Mohammed
Ibrahim (Keystone bank), Mohammed S. (FCMB) and Abdullahi Shehu (Access
bank).
Wetkas affirmed that documents received from the banks, and
critical examination of the pension payroll revealed that, indeed,
Mohammed Ibrahim and Mohammed S were listed as pensioners and monies
paid into their accounts from Kaduna State Pension Fund.
He further disclosed that analysis revealed that both names belonged to the same person-the accused. “We
confronted him with our findings which revealed that between 2007 and
2013 his account in Keystone bank received N38,684,919.09k (Thirty Eight
Million, Six Hundred and Eighty Four Thousand, Nine Hundred and
Nineteen Thousand Naira and Nine Kobo), while his FCMB account within
same period received N27,736,657.23 (Twenty-Seven Million, Seven Hundred
and Thirty Six Thousand, Six Hundred and Fifty Seven Naira and
Twenty-Three Kobo). Aggregate sum that went into him was about
N66,471,571.01,” Wetkas stated.
The witness said when the accused was confronted, he admitted
making the payments into his personal accounts but insisted his name was
enrolled by one Late Alhaji Bala Adamu who was Director of Finance of
the State Pension Bureau. Sodangi claimed he had two sets of cheque
books for the accounts while late Adamu was the one making the
withdrawals.
However the operative said the claim was refuted as the instruments
used for withdrawals were all written and signed by Sodangi. “He made withdrawals through ATM card” Wetkas stated.
Further evidence as revealed by the witness showed that Sodangi who
claimed he was engaged through Adav System Limited to computerize the
Kaduna State Pension payroll could not furnish his engagement letter. He
admitted he had never been a staff of any Ministry or parastatal in
Kaduna State but an indigene of Katsina State, yet he paid himself
pension.
“So far he was able to pay N10million of the total sum which was registered with the exhibit keeper of the Commission”, Wetkas said.
Prosecution counsel, Tahir, tendered the petition which the court
admitted as exhibit 6. Justice Haet Khobo thereafter adjourned the case
to June 20 and 21, 2016 for a trial within trial to determine the
voluntariness or otherwise of the statements made by the defendant based
on the claims of the defence counsel that his client did not make his
statement voluntarily.
The accused was arraigned in 2014 and the Commission has so far presented five witnesses.
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