•Says EFCC failed to prove case beyond reasonable doubt
CHIGOZIE AMADI
After 12 years of protracted trial, a Federal High Court in Lagos, yesterday, discharged and acquitted a former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, alongside his former personal assistant Oyebode Atoyebi over alleged N338.8 million money laundering charges filed against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In his judgement, Justice Muhammad Lima, held that the prosecution (EFCC) failed to prove its case against the defendants beyond reasonable doubt.
The judge held that Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004, and 2011 (As Amended) require clear evidence of intent, and actual act of money laundering.
Justice Lima stated that in the absence of incontrovertible evidence, the benefit of the doubt must be given to the accused going by the principle of fair hearing and natural justice.
The judge further held that money laundering must be accompanied by an underlined act, adding that, “It is practically impossible to prove a case of money laundering without an underlined offence.
He said: “The prosecution has failed to establish any underlying criminal case against the accused. So, in the absence of any underlying criminal case, and the inability of the prosecution to prove charges of money laundering, the accused persons are discharged and acquitted. That is the judgement of the court.
Mr. Ikuforiji was charged alongside Oyebode Atoyebi, his former personal assistant.
The defendants were first arraigned on March 1, 2012, before Justice Okechukwu Okeke on a 20-count charge bordering on misappropriation and money laundering. They had each pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted bail.
The defendants were, however, subsequently re-arraigned before Justice Ibrahim Buba, following a re-assignment of the case.
On September 26, 2014, Justice Buba discharged Mr. Ikuforiji and his aide of the charges, after upholding a no-case submission of the defendants.
Justice Buba had held that the EFCC failed to establish a prima-facie case against them.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, the EFCC through its counsel, Godwin Obla, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, filed the Notice of Appeal dated September 30, 2014, challenging the decision of the trial court.
Obla had argued that the trial court erred in law when it held that the counts were incompetent because they were filed under Section 1(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004 which was repealed by an Act of 2011.
EFCC further argued that the lower court erred in law when it held that the provisions of Section 1 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004 and 2011, only applied to natural persons and corporate bodies other than the government.
The commission had also submitted that the trial judge erred in law when he held and concluded that the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses supported the innocence of the respondents.
In its judgement, the Lagos Division of the Appeal Court, in November 2016, agreed with the prosecution and ordered a fresh trial of the defendants before another judge.
Following the decision of the Appeal Court, the defendants headed to the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the ruling of the Appellate court.
Again, in its verdict, the apex court also upheld the decision of the appellate court and ordered that the case be sent back to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reassignment to another judge.
The trial then started de novo (afresh) before a new judge, Justice Mohammed Liman.
The amended 54-count charge was read over to them and they both pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to the charge, EFCC alleged that the defendants accepted cash payments above the threshold set by the Money Laundering Act, without going through a financial institution.
The commission accused the defendants of conspiring to commit an illegal act of accepting cash payments in the aggregate sum of N338.8 million from the House of Assembly without going through a financial institution.
Ikuforiji was also accused of using his position to misappropriate funds belonging to the Assembly.
The EFCC said that the defendants committed the offences between April 2010 and July 2011.
The offences, according to the EFCC, contravened the provisions of Sections 15 (1d), 16 (1d) and 18 of Money Laundering Act, 2004 and 2011.
