EFCC arraigns Suswam over N3.1bn fraud Wednesday
The arraignment of Suswam, who ruled Benue State from 2007 to 2015, follows the filing of a nine-count charge largely bordering on money laundering to the tune of N3.1 billion against him at the Federal High Court Abuja on October 2.
Suswam and his former finance commissioner, Omodachi Okolobia were alleged to have diverted the proceeds of the sale of shares owned by the Benue State government and Benue Investment and Property Company Ltd.
Per Second News in a series of report has exposed how Suswam ruled the state recklessly and last month also published shocking revelations at the Justice Kpojime panel of inquiry by the General Manager of the Benue Investment and Property Company (BIPC), Mrs. Bridget Sheidu. According to sources at the High Court 4, Makurdi, Mrs. Sheidu amongst other revealations told the panel that she was not aware of the sales of about 60 billion Naira worth of Benue state shares under the company's watch.
According to her, up to August 2015 shares of BIPC were illegally sold by stock brokers adding that she was not privy to who mandated the sales and where the proceeds went. She further informed that the then commissioner of finance provided two separate accounts for proceeds from sale of shares to be remitted .
Suswam had denied allegations of sale of government shares in the course of his administration and even recently dared the present administration to extend its search light to the sale of the shares.
However according to investigations Tuesday, September 2, 2014, Elixir Investment Partners, a fund management and advisory firm, working on the instructions of the government, offloaded a significant amount of shares in 16 transactions which involved the sale of 6,152,127 units of shares earning a whopping N1.35 billion in that single transaction.
Elixir returned to the market on Wednesday, September 17, when it concluded 11 transactions involving the sale of Dangote Cement shares held by Benue State government, and again the next day when 29 sale transactions were concluded.
Similar transactions were conducted on September 19, September 22 and September 23, and the biggest single transaction was concluded on Wednesday, September 24 when in one transaction alone, over nine million units of shares were sold for N2.19 billion.
Also revealed by the panel was the claim that contracts executed by the Company were executed via direct labour to cut cost.
Per Second News checks indicate that companies such as Design Stages, Allveiw Nig. Ltd and O&H Tech all belonging to fronts for various government functionaries in the previous administration that were awarded contracts amounting to over N300 Million.
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