A prosecution witness, Karimatu Abubakar has narrated to Justice Peter Affen of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, sitting in Abuja, how Aliyu Yakubu, a former Revenue Officer with the Kano State zonal office of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, siphoned N20million belonging to JAMB by replacing it with cut-to-size cardboards.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is prosecuting Yakubu on eight counts bordering on criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of funds and money laundering to the tune of N20m.
At the resumed trial on Tuesday, Abubakar, who is JAMB’s Kano State Zonal Coordinator, explained that Yakubu replaced the sealed e-facility cards with blank cardboards claiming that he was shortchanged by a bank worker.
EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, in a statement said the defendant also claimed that he did not report the incident because he thought he could handle the situation.
Abubakar recalled that she received a text message from the headquarters, in 2016, asking her to report to Abuja with all the cards for reconciliation, adding that she asked the former revenue officer who was on leave to release the materials.
The witness further stated that the defendant handed over 40 sealed packs of supposed e-facility cards and another opened e-facility cards to her on a certain Friday.
Abubakar further explained that she left Kano for Abuja the following day with the materials in a ‘Ghana-must-go’ sack, adding that during the reconciliation exercise at the head office, it was discovered that there were only blank cardboards in the cartons.
Upon the discovery, the JAMB Coordinator said the revenue officer was ordered to report to the headquarters the following Tuesday, noting that he claimed that he was defrauded by a bank worker who failed to return the unsold cards or remit the proceeds from the ones sold.
The prosecuting counsel, Ekele Iheanacho tendered as evidence the alleged ‘Ghana- Must- Go’ sack containing the alleged blank cardboards before the court.
Justice Affen adjourned the case till February 6, 2020, for the continuation of trial.
