Court Threatens To Jail Obanikoro For Contempt Over Alleged N3.3bn Fraud

Court Threatens To Jail Obanikoro For Contempt Over Alleged N3.3bn Fraud

Justice Mojisola Olatoregun of the Federal high court in Lagos on Thursday threatened to jail a former minister of defence for state Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, for contempt of court if he fail to attend court on February 18 to conclude his testimony in the trial of former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose.

The judge made the threat after he was informed by the counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) that Obanikoro was unable to attend court because he was ill and on admission at the hospital.

Jacobs, who stated that he was unable to reach the former Minister on phone, stated the he received a medical report through an employee of the witness, issued by a clinic located in Ikoyi, Lagos.

After presenting the report to the judge, Justice Olatoregun noted that if the court should verify the medical report, the doctor, and the hospital that issue it would lose their licence.

She, however stated that the court will grant an adjournment because of Jacobs, who is a very responsible senior member of the Barr and “not because of this worthless pieces of papers.”

The court further said that if Obanikoro fails to appear at the next adjourned date he may be committed to three months imprisonment “so that he can be coming to court in black maria.

“He must present himself to the court at the next adjourned date or be compelled to do so,” the judge ruled.

The EFCC is prosecuting Fayose and one of his companies, Spotless Limited over allegations of laundering the sum of N3.3 billion belonging to the federal government.

Also on March 18, the judge will deliver ruling on the admissibility of an extrajudicial statement made by Justine Erukaa, a former Special Assistant to the Minister, who is now deceased.

While urging the court to accept the statement, the lawyer to Spotless Limited, Olalekan Ojo (SAN) argued that the most important element for consideration, in situations like this, is the relevance of the document sought to be tendered.

He submitted that the document is very relevant to his client’s case and that the admissibility of the extrajudicial statement is different from the weight that the court would attached to it at the end of the case.

But Jacobs asked the court to dismiss the argument of the defence lawyer because the extrajudicial statement is not admissible in law because it is a hearsay evidence.

He submitted that the only usefulness of the document is to contradict the maker but since the maker is not charge or is a witness in the case the statement cannot be tendered or admitted as an exhibit in the case.

According to the EFCC, Fayose and Abiodun Agbele were said to have on June 17, 2014, taken possession of the sum of N1.2 billion, for purposes of funding his gubernatorial election campaign in Ekiti State, which sum they reasonably ought to have known formed part of crime proceeds.

Fayose was alleged to have received a cash payment of the sum of five million dollars, (about N1.8 billion) from the then Minister of State for Defence, Sen. Musiliu Obanikoro, without going through any financial institution and which sum exceeded the amount allowed by law.

The commission accused the former governor of taken possession of the sum of N1.2 billion on June 17, 2014 for purposes of funding his gubernatorial election campaign in Ekiti State, which sum they reasonably ought to have known formed part of crime proceeds.

The EFCC also alleged that Fayose received a cash payment of the sum of five million dollars, (about N1.8 billion) from the then Minister of State for Defence, Sen. Musiliu Obanikoro, without going through any financial institution and which sum exceeded the amount allowed by law.

The commission further claimed that the accused persons allegedly retained the sum of N300 million in his Zenith Bank account and took control of the aggregate sums of about N622 million which sum he ought to have known formed part of crime proceeds.

Fayose was alleged to have procured De Privateer Ltd and Still Earth Ltd,  to retain in their Zenith and FCMB accounts, the aggregate sums of N851 million which they reasonably ought to have known formed part of crime proceeds.

The accused persons was also alleged to have used the aggregate sums of about N1.6 billion to acquire properties in Lagos and Abuja, which sums he reasonably ought to have known formed part of crime proceeds.

The accused was also alleged to have used the sum of N200 million, to acquire a property in Abuja, in the name of his elder sister Moji Oladeji, which sum he ought to know also forms crime proceeds.

The offences contravenes the provisions of sections 15(1), 15 (2), 15 (3), 16(2)(b), 16 (d),  and 18 (c)  of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011.

The accused persons, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.