University staff diverted N11b for former NIMASA boss, Akpobolokemi – EFCC witness tells court

A prosecuting witness in the ongoing trial of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Joseph Nwobike, today told the Lagos High Court in Igbosere how the sum of N11, 316,295,549.29 was allegedly diverted from Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) into accounts operated by a staff of Niger Delta University (NDU), John Simon Adomene.

Nwobike is facing a five-count charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice and offering gratification to a public official, a charge he denied.



The Nation reports that the prosecuting witness, Orji Chukwuma, who is an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness, told the court that Adomene laundered the money on behalf of an ex -Director-General of NIMASA, Patrick Akpobolokemi.

According to the prosecuting witness Chukwuma, in 2015, the commission received intelligence on “a monumental fraud perpetrated in NIMASA.”

“In the course of the investigation, it was revealed that one John Simon Adomene, a staff of Niger Delta University was used by the DG of NIMASA, Dr. Patrick Akpobolokemi, to perpetrate this fraud. Subsequently, efforts were made to trace accounts linked to John Adomene and companies linked with him,” he said.

He listed the companies to include Wabod, Global Resources Limited, Gokiad Marine Services and Boloberi Properties and Estate Limited. “We traced billions of naira in accounts and properties to these companies which were merely fronts for Dr. Akpobolokemi,” Chukwuma alleged