An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness, Isaac Yalah, told the federal high court on Tuesday how businessman Akindele Akintoye fail
An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness, Isaac Yalah, told the federal high court on Tuesday how businessman Akindele Akintoye failed to report the execution of $35 million Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) project.
Akintoye, Platforms Capital Investment Partners Limited, and Duport Midstream Company Limited are on trial on a six-count amended charge bordering on dishonesty and conversion of $35 million NCDMB project funds.
Yalah, a former director at Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited and the fourth prosecution witness, told the court that the defendants did not submit any formal report to the NCDMB regarding the progress of milestones one and two of the project.
Yalah explained that while the project account was opened jointly in the names of the refinery and the defendants at Zenith Bank, the operational account, which held the disbursed funds, was solely controlled by Akintoye and his management team.
He said $21.55 million, covering the first two milestones, was transferred in December 2020, followed by $13.45 million in January 2021 for the remaining milestones, based on verbal instructions from the then minister of state for petroleum resources.
He added that no official report was submitted to NCDMB detailing how the first tranche was utilized.
He also stated that while the board meetings documented ongoing work such as site sampling, health center renovations, and payments for power systems, they were not formally communicated to NCDMB before the second tranche was released.
“The project currently as it stands, has been abandoned, and I am not aware of any request for variation in terms of cost of materials for the project being discussed in the Atlantic Refinery and Petrochemical Limited.
“I am not aware of any report forwarded by the Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited to the NCDMB in respect of the work done on the last milestones,” Yalah said.
He further clarified that he was only a signatory to the project account and not the operational account where funds were disbursed, emphasizing that the responsibility for accountability rested with Akintoye and his team.
The court, presided over by Justice Ekerete Akpan, adjourned the trial to December 3, 2025, for the cross-examination of Yalah.
