Earlier on Wednesday, Umar, a lawyer, while being led in his evidence by the lead prosecuting counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), narrated to the court presided over by Justice Okon Abang how he helped Badeh to buy the property at No 6 Ogun River Street, Off Danube Street, Maitama, Abuja.
He had said that Badeh provided the funds and passed the instruction for the purchase of the property through a former Director of Finance and Account of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Aliyu Yishau (retd.), who had earlier testified as the first prosecution witness (PW1) in the case.
Umar, a lawyer, insisted under cross-examination by Badeh’s lawyer, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), on Thursday that he negotiated for the property and paid for it on behalf of Badeh.
Fielding questions from Olujinmi, Umar said after the payment, he received the title documents and passed them to Yishau, who in turn passed them to Badeh at the official residence of the ex-air force chief in Abuja.
He said, “The PW1(Umar) requested me to look for a property for his boss (Badeh) and I did so. Having found No. 6 Ogun River Street, I reported my findings back to the PW1.
“It was the PW1 that confirmed the approval of his boss to negotiate to the property.
“I negotiated with the owner and he agreed to the price of N1.1bn.
“After I had completed negotiation, I reported back to the PW1 who asked me to conduct a legal search. the PW1 asked me to prepare the agreement. It was the PW1 who gave me the name, Iyalikam.
“The PW1 paid the N1.1bn in two to three instalments between nine and 10 days.
“I collected the title documents from the owner. I handed over the documents to the PW1 who also handed them over to the defendant in my presence at the Air House, which was the official residence of the defendant (Badeh).”
When asked by Olujinmi why he failed to state in his statement to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission that Yishau passed the title documents to Badeh in his presence, the witness said, he only gave a summary of his own side of the story as it related to him.
When asked what formed “the scope of his summary,” he said, “The first is the subject matter that relates to me as a person – in the instant case, No. 6 Ogun River Stret, Abuja, vis-a-vis, the flow of instruction.”
The EFCC is prosecuting Badeh alongside a firm, Iyalikam Nigeria Limited, on 10 counts of money laundering bordering on alleged fraudulent removal of about N3.97bn from the Nigerian Air Force’s account.
The anti-graft agency accused Badeh of using the funds to buy and develop landed assets in Abuja for himself and two sons between January and December 2013.
When asked under cross-examination by Olujinmi on Thursday, Umar said he would be surprised if Yishau had testified that he (Yishau) promised to give him (Umar) N15m for the purchase of the property.
He also said he would be surprised if Yishau had denied before the court that he directed him (Umar) to negotiate for the property or conduct a legal search for it.
The witness also said he would be surprised if Yishau had said he gave him (Umar) N1.1bn for the property in one fell swoop and not on an instalment basis.
A cashier at the Nigerian Air Force headquarters, Emmanuel Abu, who earlier testified in the case as the second prosecution witness, had narrated to the court the role he played in the alleged monthly diversion of N558.2m from NAF accounts by Badeh.
Abu said he routinely converted the N558.2m to dollars, which the prosecution alleged was being handed over to the former air force chief monthly.
Abu, who was led in evidence by the lead prosecuting counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs(SAN), on Wednesday said he converted N558.2m monthly removed from NAF’s Personnel and Emolument account for 14 months between November 2012 and December 2013.
He said within the 14 months period, a total of over N7.8bn was set aside and converted to dollars.
Abu explained that he and the Financial Officer at the headquarters of the Nigerian Air Force Camp, Mogadishu Cantonment, Asokoro, Abuja, Group Captain Mohammed Lawal Sini, (now Air Commodore), were the only signatories to the six accounts operated by NAF.
Justice Abang on Thursday adjourned further trial till May 23.
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