The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has filed an appeal challenging the acquittal of a former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, on charges of money laundering.
Ikuforiji and his former personal assistant, Oyebode Atoyebi, were in March 2012 charged before the Federal High Court, Lagos, on a 54-count charge bordering on alleged N338.8 million in money laundering.
After 12 years of protracted trial, the court on June 24, 2014, acquitted and discharged the duo.
Justice Mohammed Liman, who delivered the judgement, held that EFCC failed to prove its case against both defendants beyond reasonable doubt.
Not satisfied with the judgement, the EFCC filed a notice of appeal challenging the decision of the lower court.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, EFCC through its counsel, Godwin Obla, filed a 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were incompetent because they were filed under Section 1(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2004, which was repealed by an Act of 2011.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 had 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 of November 2016, the Lagos Division of the Appeal Court agreed with the prosecution and ordered a fresh trial of the respondents before another judge.
Following the decision of the Appeal Court, the respondents headed for 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 case was consequently reassigned to Justice Liman, who conducted a fresh trial and delivered judgement acquitting the respondents on June 24.
According to the charge, EFCC had alleged that the respondents accepted cash payments above the threshold set by the Money Laundering Act, without going through a financial institution.
The commission accused them 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.
EFCC said that the respondents committed the offences between April 2010 and July 2011.
The offences, according to EFCC, contravened the provisions of Sections 15 (1d), 16(1d) and 18 of the Money Laundering Act 2004 and 2011.
