$9.7m seized in residence by EFCC were gifts I received after my retirement from NNPC – Yakubu tells court

By our reporter| The former group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Andrew Yakubu on Wednesday said that 98% of the $9.7 million and £74,000 recovered from his Kaduna residence in 2017 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), were gifts he received after he left public service.

The remaining 2%, of the money, Yakubu said, was savings he got from estacodes.

Yakubu made the disclosure while giving evidence as the first defence witness at the federal high court in Abuja, on six counts of money laundering brought against him by the EFCC.

He was alleged to have, as “group managing director of NNPC, between 2012 and 2014, within the jurisdiction of this court, with intent to avoid lawful transaction, transported to Kaduna $9.7million and €74,000.’’

The former NNPC boss was also accused of failing to disclose the monies to the EFCC in his asset declaration form, a crime which contravened Section 27 (3) of the EFCC Act.

But at the federal high court on Wednesday, Yakubu said, “The money was not received in bulk but in tranches of not more than $10,000 and not more than £5,000. And a substantial part of the money was given to me after I left office.”

“And it was given to me on the occasions of birthdays, thanksgiving services, weddings of my daughters and other celebrations that I hosted after leaving office.”

He said he kept the money in a safe at home because he was yet to figure out what business to venture into.

Yakubu continued, “Because the money came unplanned, the plan was to think about the business venture I’ll embark on after retirement.”

“I kept the money in the safe pending when there is a specific business venture I’ll embark on and as soon as that decision is crystalised, the business would be funded through a financial institution.”

“For over 25 years, I had reasons by virtue of my schedule, to travel to many parts of the world. So, I was entitled to estacodes in USD,” Yakubu explained.

“And any savings made during a trip, I came back with whatever I had and saved it. The savings estimated time of start was around 2010 to 2014.”

The case will resume on July 22 for cross-examination of Yakubu.