EFCC witness details N33.2bn fund diversion from ONSA in Dasuki trial
The trial of retired National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki, resumed on Tuesday, at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Maitama, before Justice C.O. Agbaza, with the first prosecution witness, Dr. Michael Adariku, providing a detailed account of alleged misappropriation of funds from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
Dr. Adariku, an investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), told the court that on April 17, 2015, N600 million was transferred from the ONSA account at Zenith Bank to the UBA account of Acacia Holdings Limited, which had a prior balance of just N27,094.49.
The witness further disclosed that on April 23, 2015, N60 million was sent to Hidayatul Atfaaf Islamic Academy. The proprietor, Mohammed Bashir, told the EFCC that the sum represented part payment for 3.62 hectares of land in Kyami District, Abuja, purchased by the second defendant, Aminu Baba Kusa, a former General Manager of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The total cost of the land was N120 million.
On the same day, N25 million was transferred in three tranches to Zavati BDC Ltd, owned by Abdulrahman Aliu, as part payment for a property valued at N40 million, with the balance of N15 million later paid through Ibrahim Saleh Uba, identified as Kusa’s agent.
The witness said that on April 24, 2015, transfers totalling N124 million were made with unclear purposes.
On April 27, 2015, additional payments included N600,157 to TUD for land violations in the FCT, N8.1 million to Ibrahim Saleh Uba for surveyor fees related to land purchases in Kwali, Wasa, Kyami, and Central Area districts, and N50 million to Squad Developers Nigeria Ltd, owned by Sunday Gugu, as part payment for 118.2132 hectares of land in Stadium Layout, Kwali, Abuja. The remaining N25 million was also paid via Uba.
On April 28, 2015, N55.923 million was transferred in six tranches to Fastman Investment Ltd on Kusa’s instruction. The company’s CEO, Farouk Suleiman, confirmed that $630,000 of an intended $1 million was eventually sent to a client in Saudi Arabia, Dr. Suleiman Al-Abib, with the Naira equivalent made up through Reliance Referral Hospital Limited.
Other notable transfers from ONSA included N4.861 million and N29.1 million to O.A. Akinrimade, and N150 million between April 1 and May 6, 2015, to Medical Practice Limited, a company owned by Kusa’s wife, Mrs. Hauwa Kusa.
On May 15, 2015, N23.696 million was sent in three tranches to Namuduka Ventures Ltd, owned by Murtala Bashir, which was later converted to $200,000 and credited to the UK account of Kusa’s Blue Lake Management Consultancy Ltd. Additional transfers from Acacia Holdings, Reliance Referral Hospital, and Medical Practice Ltd, amounting to N56.38 million, were converted to €233,944 and sent to Kusa’s Furnishing Touches cash-card account in the UK.
Further transfers on May 13, 2015, included N23.775 million converted to €65,075 to the Furnishing Touches clearing account, and N2.22 million converted to €1,500 to Kusa’s Business Free MT account in the UK.
The trial was adjourned to January 14, 2026, for continuation.
Colonel Dasuki, alongside Aminu Baba Kusa, Acacia Holdings Limited, and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited, was re-arraigned by the EFCC on March 25, 2025, on a 32-count charge relating to alleged breach of trust and dishonesty involving N33.2 billion.
