The EFCC witness today at the Federal High Court,Lagos succumbed to the fire of cross examination in the case of FGN v Paul Usoro when she admitted that she lied in her testimony about Paul Usoro paying N300million into his Zenith Bank Account.
Paul Usoro,a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association is undergoing trials for receiving his legal fees for briefs delivered on behalf of the Governor of Akwa Ibom State.
The PW1 a staff of Zenith bank today recanted some of the statements she made previously in her evidence in chief as she was grilled during cross examination today by Offiong Offiong SAN
She had previously said that the account was opened on the instruction of Paul Usoro but she told the court that she actually opened the account before Paul Usoro gave her instruction to open the account.
The witness in answering the questions of the Learned Silk Offiong Offiong, admitted that she was the one who actually paid in three hundred Million into the account of Paul Usoro and co using the name Paul Usoro and Co contradicting her earlier testimony that the money was paid by Paul Usoro from an account “under” Akwa Ibom State Government.
In answering questions as to how the money was paid,she said she paid in N300m cash out of the N700m withdrawn from an account “under ” Akwa Ibom State Government contradicting her earlier testimony that as at the time the account was opened there was no cash to fund the account which was also in contradiction of another testimony made in the proceedings that the funds were brought in by bullion Van.
Another Information in the proceedings has suggested that the whole N700m in the said account under the Akwa Ibom State Government was even withdrawn before the account of Paul Usoro and co was opened.
The witness was discharged and EFCC began the examination of PW2 who testified in court that it was the N500million paid into the Fidelity bank account of Onyechi Ikpeazu SAN that led yo the whole investigation.
