Former Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam shocked the courtroom with revelations that he ventured into rice farming and cattle trading to make ends meet while serving as governor, an assertion he made during his ongoing money laundry trail at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Suswam, who ruled Benue from 2007 to 2015, insisted under oath that he never stole public funds, saying his official income could barely sustain him.
“The office of the governor may sound big but the income is low,” he declared, drawing murmurs from the courtroom.
Testifying in his own defence in the money laundering case filed against him and his former Finance Commissioner, Omadachi Okolobia, Suswam revealed that his monthly pay was just ₦700,000, a figure he said pushed him into legitimate agribusiness ventures, including a rice mill and cattle ranch.
Led in evidence by his counsel, Mrs. Chinelo Ogbozor, the former governor vehemently denied ever receiving any proceeds from the sale of Benue State’s shares in Benue Cement Company through one Abubakar Umar, a bureau de change operator.
Umar, a key prosecution witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had earlier told the court he delivered $15.8 million (₦3.1 billion) to the Benue Government Lodge in Maitama, Abuja, a claim which Suswam vehemently rejected.
“My Lord, I know Abubakar Umar, but in this particular case, I had no transaction with him regarding the facts of this case. At no time did I instruct him to collect the said amount, convert it and give it back to me as alleged in the charge. I have no such transaction with him,” Suswam said with a firm tone.
Justice Peter Lifu adjourned the case to November 5 and 12 for continuation of hearing.
