Alleged Bank Scam: Plateau Commissioner Hitler Dadi Appears To Defend Money Laundering Suit Against Him In Court
Yakubu Busari
The Plateau Commissioner for Special Duty Hon. Dr. Hitler Dadi has made his first appearance in Court to defend the allegations of money laundering against him.
The court premises was filled with supporters of the Commissioner as its became glaring that there were lapses on both parties, to a large extent that the most controversial aspect that the accused who was indicted for borrowing the sum of N600,000 could not denied carrying out the transaction.
Hon. Dr. Hitler Dadi also told the court that he remembered collecting the total sum of N300,000 from the bank officially, but the N20,000 also mentioned to him have been collected from the MD of the Bank on personal ground.
However, our correspondent gathered that during his cross examination by counsel to the Bank, Bar. Abbah, Dr. Hitler Dadi was asked how he came to know the bank are issuing out loans to prospective customers.
While responding to plaintiff counsel, Hon. Dr. Hitler Dadi told the court that, on October, 2009 when he became the local government Chairman of Langtang south, he was not aware that the local government had an account with the bank, but the bank manager approached him to open it.
According to him, “I was informed by the MD that he has opened an account for me and I issued a N1m GT bank postdated cheque on the technical ground that I must credit my account”.
“As at the time the cheque was presented, the account was not funded to clear the overdraft sum of which I gave the cheque as security. But on the same month I was suspended as the Local government chairman I gave my son N200, 000 to pay to the bank and shortly after the matter was taken to the court I paid the remaining balance”.
He said after he had paid some of the money he was expectant that the bank will honourably return the cheque to him, but they did not.
He also said that as a banker too, he was aware that it is a common knowledge that over draft facilities attract interest, stressing that if he were to pay any interest whatsoever, it will be within the N100,000 that was not paid instantly.
Having listened to the arguments from both defendant and the plaintiff’s counsel who took much of the time on why the transactions were done without proper documentation was due to the influence of the accused, the judge intervened by asking the plaintiff’s counsel to shift attention from the technicalities but face the bases on ground.
As according to the judge, “the transaction was unusual to banks’ transactions” as the one entered into between Micro finance Bank and Hitler Dadi.
Having exhausted, counter claims and defenses, the defendant’ counsel Bar. Samchi applied for the discharge of the witness, Dr. Dadi and applied for adoption, where the court adjourned to July, 27th 2017 for counsels to both parties to file in the adoption of written addresses and await the decision of the court in the matter.
Justice S. J Bukur, the presiding Judge of the high court sitting in Langtang, plateau state has described it as an unusual manner in which the Low Land Micro Finance Bank had carried out the controversial transactions with the plateau state commissioner for special duties, Hon. Dr. Hitler Dadi.
The management of the low land Micro finance bank in Langtang has dragged Hon. Dr. Hitler Dadi to court for allegedly defrauding the bank the sum of over N1.7m while serving as the council chairman of Langtang south local government area of plateau state.
Witnesses were presented to the court in support of the arguments that the accused person actually carried out the transactions with the bank prompting the court to open window for self-defense.