How I Took N100m To Suswam Without Due Process – Accountant Opens Up

Janet Aluga, the Benue government house accountant has disclosed how she took millions of naira to Benue state ex-governor, Gabriel Suswam at the governor’s Lodge in Makurdi, from the Ministry of Finance, without following due process.

The Nation reports that Aluga told the Justice Kpojime Commission of Enquiry in Makurdi that on April 10, she got a call from Ruth Ijir, the permanent secretary, Ministry of Finance, to go and collect N100 million from a bank for the former governor, which she did.

She was also asked to deliver the money to him at one of the governor’s lodges.

Aluga stated that she delivered the money to Suswam in the presence of the cashier, Peter Ochoga and Emmanuel Aorga, now retired.

According to her, it did not follow the usual due process where after approval of request from the government, monies were taken to the permanent secretary, government house administration.

She explained that there were two ways the government house used to receive money for expenditure, approvals and security votes which were from the Ministry of Finance or Bureau of Internal Affairs.

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But in this case, the permanent secretary gave a directive for the money to be given to the former governor.

She added that the money which she and her team gave the former governor was not acknowledged.

Also speaking, Ochoga, the government house cashier from 2009 to date, confirmed that he received N50 million from James Agera of the Ministry of Finance

He said he got another N150 million from Zenith Bank, Makurdi and gave the money to the government house accountant.

He explained how they drove to one of the governor’s lodges and Aluga, entered the money and handed it over to Suswam.

On her part, the accountant of the Bureau of Internal Affairs from 2008 to May this year confirmed that she received N200 million from the Finance Ministry on behalf of the bureau on June 11, 2010, which she handed over to the then permanent secretary, Mr. Hinga Biem.

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She added that she had no knowledge of the purpose of the money.

Governor Samuel Ortom had set up a judicial commission of inquiry in August to look into the financial engagement of Suswam’s administration.

In September, the panel began to meet and collected memoirs submitted by the ministries, departments and agencies for analysis. Various witnesses were also invited to testify before the commission.

Suswam was arraigned before a court in Abuja by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Wednesday, November 4 over allegation of N3.1 billion fraud.

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