A key witness, Adebayo Olanrewaju, told the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday that the Federal Ministry of Defence did not make any direct payments into the shares investment account of former acting Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Anamekwe Nwabuoku.
Testifying during cross-examination by Nwabuoku’s lawyer, Harrison Quakers (SAN), Olanrewaju, an investment banker and stockbroker with Quantum Zenith Securities Ltd, affirmed that all transactions related to the shares account were authorized by Nwabuoku himself.
Nwabuoku is currently facing a nine-count amended charge brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), accusing him of laundering N868 million during his time as Director of Finance and Accounts at the Ministry of Defence.
Olanrewaju, who appeared as the fourth prosecution witness (PW-4), informed the court that he met Nwabuoku in 2016 during a dispute over shares with another investment company.
After the EFCC intervened, the former AGF reportedly recovered his shares and moved them to Quantum Zenith for management.
The court admitted as evidence a document dated December 8, 2023, which was used to open the investment account.
During examination by EFCC’s counsel Ekele Iheanacho (SAN), the witness listed several multi-million-naira share purchases made through the account, involving banks such as Zenith Bank, GTBank, and UBA.
He emphasized that no cash deposits were made, and all transactions were electronic transfers.
According to him, Nwabuoku claimed the source of the funds were property rental income and dividends from previous investments.
Olanrewaju estimated the total value of the stocks held in the account to be between N200 million and N220 million. He also clarified that Felix Nweke, another EFCC witness and former Deputy Director of Finance at the Ministry of Defence, did not make any payments into the account.
The witness noted that Nwabuoku was fortunate to have transferred his shares before the previous investment firm was shut down by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) two months later.
After hearing the testimony, Justice James Omotosho adjourned proceedings to April 9, 2025, promising an accelerated hearing of the case.
