I Lost N68.9m To Suspected Fraudster -Ex-Minister

A former Minister of Power and Steel, Mr Bashir Dalhatu, on Wednesday told an FCT High Court in Zuba, FCT that he lost N68.9 million to a fraudster.
Testifying as a prosecution witness in a case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against a businessman, Imeh Akpan, charged with two counts bordering on criminal breach of trust, the former minister said he was introduced to the accused person sometime in 2004 through his friends, the late Alhaji Aliyu Alkali and Haruna Ningi.
He alleged that the accused person told him to invest in the aviation industry by buying shares in the airline he was floating.
“He informed me that the business was profitable at that time. He said the business was a win-win.
“At the end of the presentation, I accepted to buy shares to the tune of N1.8million representing 34 per cent of the company share capital.
“He (the accused person) told me that he was in the process of negotiating with First Atlantic Bank to obtain a loan facility for his company, Commodore Aviation Services,’’ he said.
The ex-minister said the accused told him that the loan facility was to enable the accused person buy aircraft to be used in the country by the Commodore Aviation Services.
Dalhatu told the court that the accused met him again and requested to assist him with N50 million to facilitate the loan.
“I agreed to provide the N50 million security deposit on two conditions; one of the conditions was to open an interest saving account in the name of Commodore Aviation Services and keep the money there.
“The second condition I gave him was that the interest that accrued from the account would be his own and it should be reverted back to him at the end of six months,” he said.