The on-going trial of one Alhaji Musa Sulaiman, Managing Director, Alhaji Musa Suleiman General Enterprise, and his son, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Suleiman who are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over an alleged issuance of dud cheque to the tune of N300m (three hundred million naira) continued on Friday, December 12, 2014 before Justice Tukur M. Aliu of Kaduna State High Court, Kaduna.
At the resumed hearing of the case today, an operative of the EFCC, Buba Abubakar, the fifth prosecution witness, told the court that the accused received consignment of groundnut oil and rice from Stallion Nigeria Limited (Kaduna Branch) to the tune of N300m (three hundred million naira) and issued cheques which were returned unpaid due to insufficient funds.
Abubakar who was led in evidence by counsel to EFCC, Benjamin Manji, told the court that in the course of investigation, letters were sent to StanbicIBTC Bank and Ecobank to find out why the cheques were returned unpaid.
The witness further stated that Alhaji Musa Suleiman and Alhaji Musa Suleiman General Enterprise, first and third accused respectively, issued 25 StanbicIBTC cheques for the products supplied to them.
According to the witness, Ibrahim Musa Suleiman, the second accused issued 6 Ecobank cheques in the sum of N60m (six million naira) which was also returned unpaid.
He further told the court that, the first accused used different names on the cheques issued by him such as Musa Sambo Suleiman and Musa Suleiman.
Copies of the cheques, including the petition written to the Commission, letter of investigation to StanbicIBTC and Ecobank, were presented to the court and admitted as exhibits
Also testifying, the sixth prosecution witness, Abu Fari Yahaya, an operative of EFCC told the court that, he met the accused persons in the course of investigating a petition against them.
According to Yahaya, 31 cheques totalling N300m (three hundred million naira) were issued by the accused persons.
It will be recalled that, the second prosecution witness, Onu Monday Isa , Marketing Manager, Stallion Nigeria Limited, Kaduna Branch and the third prosecution witness, Omowonuola Ife-Babalola, Head, Customer Support Service, StanbicIBTC, had on Thursday, December 11, told the court that Alhaji Suleiman issued over 20 cheques in the name of Popular Foods Limited, a subsidiary of Stallion Nigeria Limited, but were all returned unpaid due to insufficient fund.
The case has been adjourned to February 19, 2015 for continuation of hearing.
Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity
