[Naija News] Alleged Money Laundering: Witness Insists Maina Recovered N1.63trn In Assets

 As the trial of the chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT) continues in Abuja, a witness, Mr. Ngozika Ihuoma has maintained his stance that the PRTT under Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina made huge recoveries amounting to N1.63 trillion in assets.

Mr. Ihuoma, a management consultant who took part in the biometric capture for pensioners in 2010, said with Mr. Maina as chairman, the team also recovered N282 billion from suspected pension thieves within the first 18 months.

The witness while being cross-examined by the prosecution counsel Mohammed Abubakar said he stands by his earlier testimonies including those relating to the monies warehoused at the Central Bank of Nigeria but did not tender documents to back his claims.

During further cross-examination by the prosecutor, the witness also admitted that he has not tendered documents to prove that N74 billion of the recovered funds was used for the 2012 national budget.

Earlier, Justice Okon Abang had ruled against the admissibility of a document which the defendant’s counsel, abiola olawole, sought to tender. The said document showed allowances of members of staff of the tax team as well as those of National Assembly members on oversight.

The prosecutor said the document, though a public one, was not a certified true copy, making it inadmissible in evidence, thus prompting the ruling by the judge.

The case has been adjourned till the 9th, 10th, and 11th of march for the continuation of the cross-examination of the first defendant’s witness.