• I was paid N860m for Badeh’s shopping mall–Contractor

From Godwin Tsa, Abuja

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), yesterday, directed the Federal Government to grant unhindered access to counsel representing detained former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Ibrahim Dasuki (retd) to meet his client for briefing at a neutral place instead of the premises of the Department of State Security (DSS) where he is being detained.

The meeting with his lawyers would enable him  brief them adequately for his defence in the trial of criminal charges on corruption brought against him. The order was handed down by Justice Husain Baba Yusuf, who directed that, henceforth, the detained ex-NSA should be allowed by DSS operatives to access his lawyers within the premises of the Federal Capital Territory Judiciary Headquarters in Maitama Abuja between Monday to Friday this week.

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In a related development, an EFCC witness, yesterday, told a Federal High Court how he received about N860 million directly from the account of the Nigerian Air Force as part of payment for the construction of a shopping mall located at Aminu Kano Crescent in Abuja, for former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Marshal Alex Badeh.

The witness, Mustapha Yerima, a contractor, further told the court that he was also paid the sum of N650million, in cash, from the former director of Finance and Account of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Aliyu Yushau (retd),‎ who was acting on behalf of Badeh, to acquire a plot of land for the construction of the shopping mall.

Yushua had earlier testified as PW1 in the case of money laundering bordering on alleged fraudulent removal of about N3.97bn from the Nigerian Air Force’s account brought again Badeh and a firm, Iyalikam Ltd.