Bilikisu Rimi, a star witness of ICPC in the ongoing trial of former executive director of Aso Savings and Loan Plc, Maimuna Aliyu, over alleged N57 million fraud last Friday testified against the suspect.
Mrs Aliyu, whose daughter Maryam Sanda is facing trial for the murder of her husband, is being prosecuted by ICPC for alleged N57 million on land deal since 2017.
She claimed to have paid the amount to Aso Savings and Loan Plc for three plots of land at Jahi District, Abuja but Mrs Rimi denied it.
Mrs Rimi then insisted that all she did was to release documents for the land but never received any money for the said land.
The witness told Justice Mairo Nasir of FCT High Court that she released the documents to Mrs Aliyu based on instruction by the former Managing Director of Aso Savings, Hassan Musa.
Mrs Rimi, while being cross examined by the defence lawyer, Joe-Kyari Gadzama, said herself and the defendant were both staff of the financial institution in 2012.
The witness, a secretary at the institution, said “the managing director asked me to bring the land document and after a few days, I went back to the MD to find out if payment had been made and was told that the defendant had made payment.
“I later discovered that payment was not made and I went back to the MD to report my findings.”
Mrs Rimi explained that there was a designated account for such transactions, stressing, however, that payment for the land in question was not made.
She noted, however, that “I released the original land titled deed to the defendant because Bilkisu Rimi was my superior and based on instruction from former MD of the company.”
Akponimisingha Ekoi, Counsel to the ICPC, while leading the witness in evidence, said contrary to claim of the defendant to the police, Mrs Rimi did not collect money from the defendant.
Meanwhile, Justice Nasir had adjourned the matter until July 11 for continuation of hearing