According to him,  the inability of a defunct bank, Diamond Bank, to handle huge amount of money prompted the airlifting of the money.

Fayose and Spotless Investment Limited are standing trial on  11 charges bordering on money laundering and stealing to the tune of N6.9 billion.

Led in evidence by the counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Wahab Shittu (SAN), Obanikoro explained that the money came from the former National Security Adviser,  Col Sambo Dasuki (retd.),  adding that only he could explain its source.

He added that he only got the information about the money from Dasuki, saying that it was the former NSA who told him that the said money had been paid into the account of Sylvan Mcnamara Limited.

Obanikoro said, “I was a minister under Jonathan’s administration in 2014. Sometime in 2014, we were going to have an election in Ekiti State. I was saddled with the responsibility of coordinating the activities in the election.

“Some days before the election, I got a call from Gov. Fayose asking me if I received any message for him from ONSA, I can recall that prior to that, we had some activities among which was fundraising for that election.”

He also denied taking out the money as speculated in a report by an online media platform.

Obanikoro said,  “When Mr. Fayose called, I told him I would call him later. I had a call conversation with the NSA and was told he would get back to me. After, he got back to me that N2.2 billion was paid into the account of Sylvan Mcnamara Lomited..

“The money came came from the NSA. Only the NSA can explain the source of the fund.
The bank lacked the capacity to handle the situation. It was a last-minute decision- to ferry the money to Ekiti.

“I handed over the cash to Agbele for onward delivery to Fayose. I did not take any money or N19 million, contrary to the publication by a Lagos-based online platform.”

When asked about his relationship with Sylvan Mcnamara Limited, Obanikoro said the account was initially opened to tackle terrorism in Lagos after which it was used to disburse funds for elections.

He said,  “The account was created to deal with the issue of Boko Haram in Lagos, the account was created by Taiwo Kareem, and the account was used for the purpose of disbursing funds for election.

“I put a call through to let Fayose know that the money had been paid. Diamond Bank had said it did not have the capacity to make the funds available, so we opted to airlift the fund. The funds were airlifted from Lagos in two tranches, the volume was much.”

After listening to Obanikoro’s testimony,  the presiding judge, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba adjourned the case till February 27, 2024

Fayose who shared on his official Twitter handle urged for a probe into the human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings under their watch.

He said, “The new service chiefs should learn from their immediate predecessors and remember nothing lasts forever. It is my call to the ICC and other relevant authorities that the tenure of the “sacked” service chiefs should be investigated, most importantly human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings under their watch and commands. The sacked service chiefs only served themselves and their pockets and can at best be described as “Disservice Chiefs” under whom Nigeria became completely insecure

Fayose had on Wednesday warned the governor not to meddle into political affairs in Ekiti State.

Olujimi, who described Makinde as the party’s leader in the South-West geo-political zone, urged the governor to discountenance moves against him, but continue with his quest “to reposition, galvanise and salvage the party from the brinks of collapse”.

She said, “Makinde is the symbol of the party in the South-West. So, anything that must come from the zone must come through. Fayose and his conspirators’ visit to Uche Secondus was nothing but a recreational. I can take anybody to the National Secretariat of the party and we take pictures. What is important is what was said. While they were there nothing could have been saying. We stand by Makinde because nobody can rubbish him and wish him away. This is the best time South-West Zone needs the governor most when ‘hijackers’ are trying to undermine the party’s structure through egregious conspiracy.”

Fayose in his tweets shared on Saturday night said Nigeria is currently being managed by “strange bedfellows” who took it by conspiracy and deception. He stated that what is happening to the APC in Edo State is a pointer to the “helpless situation the country is currently in.”

He tweeted “Gold is only sold to those who know the worth. Sadly, Nigeria is currently being managed by strange bird fellows, who took it by conspiracy and deception. People who can’t even manage their party.  Now,  our country is bleeding seriously and we must salvage it together. What is happening to the APC in Edo State is a pointer to the helpless situation that our country is now. The President who should be the leader of APC cannot even run the affairs of his immediate family not to talk of managing his party and the nation”

The former Governor was re-arraigned in a Federal High Court in Lagos for an alleged fraud of N 6 .9 billion.

We will keep you update as the story unfolds.