A Federal high court sitting in Lagos south west Nigeria has adjourned till December 14,2016 when Economic and Financial crime Commission (EFCC) will re-arraign a former Governor of Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja and one of his aides, Chief Waheed Akanbi, over an alleged money laundering of N4.7 billion.
The accused ex- governor and his aide were earlier in November 2008 arraigned by EFCC on a 10-count charge of money laundering offence before Justice Ramat Mohammed, who was then serving at the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court.
The new date was fixed on Friday by the presiding Judge Idris Mohammed following his ruling on an application filed by the EFCC seeking for the issuance of bench warrant against them on the ground that the two accused persons were not making themselves available to answer the charges leveled against them.
In his ruling, Justice Idris Mohammed turned down the request of the defence counsel for a stay of proceedings in the matter pending the outcome of an appeal lodged at the Supreme Court against the ruling of the Lagos Division of the Appeal Court which ordered the trial of the accused persons on the ground that the anti-graft agency has power to prosecute them under the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2004.
According to the judge, the request was against the provisions of Section 306 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015.
Justice Idris also dismissed the objection of Ladoja’s lawyer, Bolaji Onilenla, to bar the appearance of the prosecution’s lawyer, Olabisi Oluwayemi (from Festus Keyamo’s chambers) to prosecute the matter.
Onilenla while challenging the prosecutorial power of the prosecuting lawyer submitted that the fiat to prosecute was exclusively given to Festus Keyamo and that the fiat cannot be transferred to any other person in Keyamo’s chambers.
However, the judge faulted the lawyer’s submission saying the EFCC is in a better position to raise such an objection.
The court also refused to make any order for the arrest of the accused persons as was requested by the EFCC owing to the appearance of Ladoja and his co-accused in court today
On this issue, Justice Idris said: “The court will not make any order for arrest in the light of the appearance of the accused persons in court”.
He subsequently adjourned the matter to December 14 for the re-arraignment of the accused persons.
In the charge, the EFCC alleged that the duo conspired together to convert properties and resources derived from an illegal act, with the intention of concealing their illicit origin.
The anti-graft agency also alleged that Ladoja used N42million out of the proceeds to purchase an Armoured Land Cruiser Jeep, and remitted about £600,000 to one, Bimpe Ladoja in London.
Source: The News Nigeria
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