The ongoing trial of former Anambra State governor, Willie Obiano, continued on Wednesday at the Federal High Court, Abuja, with the tenth prosecution witness (PW10), Udochukwu Okparache, testifying that he was unaware of N860 million deposited into his company’s account by the Anambra State government.
Okparache, a general contractor and owner of Youdooh Ventures Limited, told Justice Inyang Ekwo that he only learned of the transactions when he was invited for questioning by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in April 2023.
According to him, upon noticing the unusual deposits, he contacted his account officer, who claimed the transactions were meant to “boost his account status” to help him meet travel requirements.
During his testimony, Okparache revealed that the N860 million that passed through his account benefited several entities, including Cherish Ventures Limited, Easy Demands Limited, and Chief Mrs. Eberechi Willie Obiano, wife of the defendant.
He said, “Sometime in April 2023, I was called by the EFCC to come and give clarification in respect of Youdooh Ventures bank account, which I opened in Awka and when I got there, they showed me the transactions I had done with the Anambra State government but couldn’t understand the transaction that was there.
“Immediately, I called my account officer, who told me that he was boosting my account. The inflows were made through Manager’s cheques and the outflows were done by individuals.”
“The transactions that were done in that account were through Manager’s cheques, which was about N60 million but N860 million was the total amount that passed through my account, which Cherish Ventures Limited, Chief Mrs Eberechi Willie Obiano, Easy Demands Limited and so many others companies benefited from the transactions. I did not bid for any contract with the Anambra State government,” he said.
An analysis of exhibit PW3 A1-A5, which included his bank statements, showed multiple payments into his account, including N18 million and N9 million on April 5, 2018, and another N7 million sent to Mrs. Obiano on April 11, 2018.
Under cross-examination by defence counsel Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, Okparache admitted that he did not report the transactions to the bank because he believed they would improve his financial standing. However, he insisted that he had no personal relationship with Willie Obiano and could not confirm whether the former governor authorised the payments.
Following the testimony, Justice Ekwo adjourned the trial to May 26, 27, and 28, 2025, for continuation.
Obiano is facing prosecution by the EFCC on nine-count charges of embezzlement and money laundering to the tune of N4 billion.
At Monday’s proceedings, the EFCC called Prosecution Witness 9 (PW9), Andrew Ali, a staff member of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Head of the License Office.
Ali revealed that three companies out of the 23 company accounts connected with the alleged N4 billion fraud were not duly licensed with the CBN to carry out bureau de change (BDC) business.
