Why We Didn’t Invite Jonathan To Account For 4.6b Naira Campaign Fund- EFCC Explains

Shehu Shuaibu, an Investigative Officer with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said former President Goodluck Jonathan was not invited to answer questions related to a massive fraud case because he was not the one that spent the money.

Shuaibu told a Federal High Court in Lagos State on Thursday that the N4.6 billion allegedly transferred into a Joint Trust account was used to finance the 2015 presidential campaign of Jonathan.

The money believed to belong to the Federal Government is the subject of the criminal trial of a former Finance Minister, Mrs. Nenadi Usman; a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode; and two others.

The trial, which resumed before Justice Daniel Osiagor, featured the cross-examination of Shuaibu, by Ferdinand Orbih (a Senior Advocate of Nigeria), counsel to the first defendant (Usman).

During cross-examination by Orbih, the witness stated that his team, from the EFCC’s Special Task Force, did not invite Jonathan throughout the investigation.

Asked why he did not invite the former Nigerian leader to confirm or deny whether the money paid into the Joint Trust account was spent for his campaign or otherwise, as claimed by the defendants, Shuaibu said: “We did not invite him since the President was not the one that expended the money.”

Justice Osiagor adjourned the case till today (Friday) for the continuation of the trial.