The N2.2bn fraud trial of the immediate past Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, resumed on Monday with his former ally and former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, testifying against him.
According to PUNCH, during his cross-examination,Obanikoro told the court that testifying against Fayose was a painful thing for him as they enjoyed a good relationship while they were both members of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Obanikoro who has since defected from the PDP to the ruling All Progressives Congress said , despite testifying against Fayose, he wouldn’t want their relationship to be destroyed.
At a point in the course of being grilled by the defence counsel, Obanikoro burst out, “
I’m trying to restrain myself from saying things that will further damage our relationship!”
But pushing him further, the defence counsel, Ojo, asked,
“So, will it be correct to say that you are giving evidence in this case reluctantly?”
Answering, Obanikoro said,
“It’s painful for me to give evidence against him (Fayose); no doubt about it. It is indeed very painful.”
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is prosecuting Fayose for allegedly taking N2.2bn from the office of the National Security Adviser to prosecute his governorship election in 2014.
The EFCC said Fayose received the N2.2bn from then NSA, Sambo Dasuki, through Obanikoro
Emeh Achanga,the CEO of the Miss Petite Nigeria Brand is a lawyer turned blogger. She is very passionate about writing, with several publications and awards to her credit .She is currently working on publishing a collection of short stories which are basically a memoir about her exciting true experiences.
