A compliance officer with Access Bank, Arhyel Mshelia, has told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, how billions of naira received by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) in 2015 were transferred to various companies and beneficiaries during the tenure of former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retd.).
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Mshelia, who testified on Tuesday as the third prosecution witness in the ₦4.6 billion arms procurement fraud trial involving Dasuki and four others, gave details of financial transactions involving Jabbama Ada Global Services, Jawas Multipurpose Ventures and Onile Nigeria Limited.
Dasuki has been standing trial since 2015 alongside former Sokoto State Governor Attahiru Bafarawa; his son, Sagir Bafarawa; former Minister of State for Finance Bashir Yuguda; and Dalhatu Investment Limited.
The defendants are facing 25 counts bordering on alleged misappropriation, criminal breach of trust and receiving stolen property in connection with ₦4.6 billion allegedly diverted from funds intended for arms procurement to strengthen military operations against Boko Haram during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
All five defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
While reviewing the statement of account belonging to the ONSA, Mshelia informed the court that Dasuki and one Salisu Abdulmalik Shaibu were signatories to the account maintained with Access Bank.
According to the witness, the account received a credit of ₦500 million from the CBN on March 16, 2015, which was subsequently disbursed on March 25, 2015.
He further disclosed that another ₦5 billion was credited to the account on April 10, 2015.
Mshelia told the court that on April 16, 2015, transfers of ₦27 million and ₦400 million were made to Jabbama Ada Global Limited.
He identified Salisu Umar Garu as the signatory to the company’s account.
The witness also revealed that Jabbama Ada received ₦500 million from the ONSA on February 5, 2015, and another ₦1 billion on April 16, 2015.
According to him, the company received additional funds from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) account maintained by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.
He listed the transactions as ₦38 million on January 6, 2015, ₦25 million on January 7, 2015, and ₦55 million on February 5, 2015.
The Access Bank official further testified that Onile Nigeria Limited, whose account signatory he identified as Tom Ikimi, received ₦200 million from the ONSA on February 9, 2015, and another ₦100 million on February 18, 2015.
He added that Jawas Multipurpose Ventures received ₦2 billion, although the specific date of the transaction was not stated in the account of his testimony.
During cross-examination by defence counsel, Mshelia acknowledged that he did not know the purposes for which the various transactions were carried out.
He explained that Jabbama Ada was engaged in general contracting, oil and gas, purchase and resale of land, and transportation.
The witness also confirmed that the account records contained transfers to Defence Headquarters, as well as payments from individuals and companies other than the ONSA and CBN.
Responding to questions from James Olatoke, SAN, counsel to Yuguda and Dalhatu Investment Limited, Mshelia stated that he was unaware of any relationship between Jabbama Ada and the two defendants.
His testimony formed part of the prosecution’s attempt to establish the movement of funds from government accounts to private companies and individuals during the period under investigation.
However, the witness maintained that his knowledge was limited to the banking records and that he could not explain the underlying purposes of the transactions.
Earlier in the trial, the first prosecution witness, Hamza Abdullahi, who served as second-in-command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s Special Task Force investigating the alleged arms procurement fraud, told the court that investigators traced ₦4.633 billion to Dalhatu Investment Limited.
Abdullahi testified that Sagir Bafarawa, son of the former Sokoto State governor, was the sole signatory to the company’s bank account.
The second prosecution witness, identified as Yusuf, had also told the court that funds were released from the ONSA for the supply of security equipment but that the contracts were not executed.
According to his testimony, Sagir Bafarawa presented investigators with a list showing how the funds were allegedly utilised.
The witness claimed that part of the money was used to sponsor pilgrimages to Mecca, while another portion was allegedly diverted to finance the 2015 election campaigns of the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He identified the Sheikh AbdurRahman Al-Sudais Foundation, which he linked to former Governor Bafarawa, as a recipient of ₦500 million.
The witness also alleged that Abdallah Wali, the PDP governorship candidate in Sokoto State during the 2015 elections, received ₦580 million through a company.
The allegations concerning political campaign financing and other expenditures form part of the prosecution’s case and remain subject to determination by the court.
The ₦4.6 billion case is one of two major arms procurement fraud trials instituted against Dasuki over funds released from the ONSA between 2014 and 2015.
In the second case, the EFCC is prosecuting Dasuki alongside a former General Manager of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Aminu Baba-Kusa; Acacia Holdings Limited; and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited.
The defendants in that case face 32 counts involving the alleged diversion of ₦33.2 billion earmarked for arms procurement.
In March 2026, the EFCC re-arraigned the defendants on charges including criminal breach of trust following the reassignment of the case, which began in 2015, to Justice Charles Agbaza.
The defendants again pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Both cases have experienced prolonged delays since their commencement, including adjournments arising from the continued detention of Dasuki by the State Security Services (SSS) despite court orders granting him bail.
Dasuki served as National Security Adviser between 2012 and 2015, during a period of intensified Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria’s North-East.
Following the change of administration in 2015, an audit panel established by former President Muhammadu Buhari’s government raised concerns over approximately $2 billion allocated for arms procurement under the ONSA.
The findings prompted investigations by the EFCC, which subsequently instituted criminal proceedings against several individuals and companies accused of receiving funds allegedly diverted from their intended security purposes.
The commission alleged that portions of the funds were distributed to political associates, relatives and other beneficiaries for purposes unrelated to arms procurement.
The defendants have consistently denied wrongdoing.
Following Tuesday’s proceedings, the court adjourned the ₦4.6 billion trial to November 17, 2026, for continuation of hearing.
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