Corrupt collaboration

Former Minister of State for Defence Musiliu Obanikoro is understandably a reluctant prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose for money laundering.  But his reluctance is irrelevant.

Fayose is on trial for allegedly receiving and keeping N1.2 billion and $5 million allegedly stolen from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), contrary to the Money Laundering Act.  Obanikoro had allegedly delivered the money to Fayose to fund the former governor’s 2014 governorship campaign.  The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) listed Obanikoro as one of 22 witnesses to testify in the trial.

Testifying against Fayose wasn’t going to be enjoyable for Obanikoro, considering their connection when they were both in the same political party. But things are different now. Fayose is no longer governor and Obanikoro is no longer in the same party with him. But what they shared in the past is not easily forgotten.

Obanikoro must have remembered things they did together before things changed. As a witness, he was quoted as saying at the Federal High Court in Lagos on February 4: “I’m trying to restrain myself from saying things that will further damage my relationship with him (Fayose). I was in Ado-Ekiti (the state capital) in furtherance of his governorship bid. It’s very painful for me to give evidence against him, no doubt about that.”

In the beginning, in 2016 while Obanikoro was being questioned by the EFCC in connection with the distribution of over N4billion taken from the ONSA, he was quoted as saying: “Out of N4.685billon transferred to Sylva McNamara Limited, N3.880billion was transferred to both Ayodele Fayose and Senator Omisore through cash and bank transfers. The dollars contents were handed over to Fayose personally by me in the presence of some party leaders and he collected it and took it to the room next to where we were all seated.”

Fayose was still governor at the time. His reported reaction: “Let me believe that Obanikoro did not say all these because whatever you say, you would have to prove it in court. It is not enough to just say it. If he’s saying all these to get out of trouble, it is just a drama of the moment. I know he is looking for ways out of the quagmire as his house was seized, his bank accounts were frozen and all that.”

Now that the matter is in court and Obanikoro is testifying against Fayose, the drama is beyond the moment.  Both men will relive that dramatic moment of corrupt collaboration.