A former Minister of State for Defence , Senator Musiliu Obanikoro , has returned a fresh sum of N 30 m to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission , with a promise to pay a balance of N 417 m, The nellybbeat can confirm .
Calculations by our correspondent showed that the former minister has now returned N 167m to the Federal Government.
A reliable source told our correspondent that the former minister paid the money from his Diamond Bank account to the EFCC Recovered Funds Account.
The source stated , “ I can confirm that Senator Obanikoro has been meeting up his part of the agreement . You will recall that last year, he promised to return a certain amount of money every quarter.
“ He has made a payment of N 30 m, his first instalment in 2017 . He is also reporting at the EFCC as he should . ”
The ex - minister, who returned to Nigeria in October 2016 , after spending about 15 months in the United States , was accused of receiving N 4 . 7 bn from the Office of the National Security Adviser under the leadership of Col . Sambo Dasuki ( retd . ) .
Obanikoro had said in his statement of oath at the EFCC that after receiving the money in 2014 , he gave N 1 . 219 bn to the then governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State, Mr . Ayodele Fayose , while N 1 . 3 bn was given to the PDP governorship candidate in Osun State , Senator Iyiola Omisore .
He also confessed to giving Fayose a separate $ 5 . 377m at Spotless Hotel in Ekiti State in the presence of party stalwarts, including the then PDP state secretary , Mr . Tope Aluko.
Obanikoro was said to have kept about N 785m for himself, which he allegedly spent while campaigning ahead of the PDP governorship primary in Lagos State , which Mr . Jimi Agbaje won .
However , the EFCC asked him to return about N 584 m, out of which he has returned N 167m.
At the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Nnamdi Dimgba , Mr . Alade Sunday, a manager at Zenith Bank, narrated how Obanikoro delivered about N 1. 219 bn to Fayose ’ s aide , Abiodun Agbele , for onward transmission to Fayose .
He had added that it took the cashiers about 10 days to count all the money .
Sunday had said Obanikoro flew the cash to Akure airport and the money was loaded onto bullion vans .
“ When we got to the airport , we waited for some minutes before the aircraft arrived . When the aircraft offloaded its passengers, one of them appeared to me to be Senator Musiliu Obanikoro and the other one appeared to be his ADC , Adewale .
“ Agbele walked up to them and had a discussion with them . Thereafter , he signalled to me to bring the van. Bags loaded with cash were loaded into the van and Obanikoro ’s ADC , I and Agbele drove back to the bank ,” he had stated .
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