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Tag: Chief Rashidi Ladoja

  • BREAKING: Court acquits Ladoja of N4.7b fraud case

    Justice Mohammed Idris on Friday acquitted former Oyo State Governor Chief Rashidi Ladoja over alleged N4.7billion fraud.

    The judge delivered judgment in the trial.

    He faulted the prosecution’s case, saying it was full of contradictions.

    He said the case was badly prosecuted.

    The judge said EFCC’s case lacked credible evidence and that the prosecution’s case was full of contradictions.

    Justice Idris held that the prosecution failed to prove a single ingredient in the 11-count charge.

    “The court found the defendants not guilty,” the judge held in 11 counts.

    He started reading the judgment at about 10am at the Federal High Court in Lagos.

    He began by announcing that the judgment was up to 250 pages, but that he would skip some aspects.

    “I examined 914 tendered documents forensically,” he said.

    “If have to read the entire judgment, we’ll leave here by 6pm. So I’ll skip some.”

    The 11-year-old case was filed in 2008.

    Justice Idris is the third judge to handle the case after Justices I. M. Sanni and A. R. Mohammed.

    Twelve witnesses were called in the course of the trial, six each by the prosecution and defence.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) re-arraigned Ladoja last November 5 following an amendment to the charge.

    The case went up to the Supreme Court due to interlocutory appeals filed by Ladoja.

    Ladoja was re-arraigned along with his former Commissioner for Finance Waheed Akanbi on 11 counts of money laundering and unlawful conversion of public funds.

    In the amended charge, EFCC added that Ladoja allegedly “compelled” a broker to sell the state’s shares.

    EFCC alleged that the former governor allegedly did not remit N1.9billion realised from the sale of the shares.

    The prosecution and the defence adopted their final written addresses and made closing arguments on January 21.

    Justice Idris, who was elevated to the Court of Appeal, concluded the trial through a fiat.

    EFCC accused the defendants of converting N1,932,940,032.48 belonging to Oyo to their personal use through the Guaranty Trust Bank account of a company, Heritage Apartments Limited, despite knowing that it was proceed of crime.

    The prosecution said Ladoja removed £600,000 from the state coffers in 2007 and sent it to Bimpe Ladoja in London.

    Ladoja also allegedly bought an armoured Land Cruiser jeep with N42million for himself using public funds.

    EFCC said he converted N728,600,000 and another N77,850,000 at different times in 2007, and allegedly transferred N77, 850,000 to Bistrum Investments, which he nominated to help him purchase a property named Quarter 361 in Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

    The alleged offence, EFCC said, contravenes sections 17(a) and18 (1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004, punishable under sections 14(1), 16(a) (b) and 18(2).
    Ladoja and Akanbi pleaded not guilty.

    Ladoja was governor from May 29, 2003 to January 12, 2006 when he was impeached. On November 1, 2006, the Appeal Court Ibadan, declared the impeachment null and illegal.

    The Supreme Court upheld the decision on November 11, 2009, and Ladajo resumed office on December 12, 2006. He, however, lost a re-election bid.

  • Alleged shares fraud: N180m not remitted to Oyo – Witness

    An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness, Yinka Fatoki, Tuesday told the Federal High Court in Lagos that N180million, which was part of proceeds of shares sold by the Oyo State Government under Chief Rashidi Ladoja, was allegedly not remitted to the state.

    The court also heard that the state government sent a petition to the EFCC following suspicions of fraudulent activities in the sale of the state’s shares in seven banks by the Ladoja administration.

    Testifying in Ladoja’s trial for alleged money laundering, Fatoki, Executive Secretary, Oyo State Bureau of Investment and Public, Private Partnership, said state officials allegedly got “gifts” running into millions of naira from the portfolio manager.

    The witness recalled that in 2007, while he was an Acting Director of Investment Promotion in the Ministry of Commerce, and while serving as the Desk Officer for Oyo’s holdings in public quoted equities, the state executive council reached a decision to sell off the state’s shares.

    “In 2007, there was a decision by the state to sell some of the shareholdings in about seven banks, including First City Monument Bank, UBA, Skye Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Standard Chartered Bank and Guarantee Trust Bank. Fountain Securities Ltd was appointed the Portfolio Manager,” he said.

    He said the Ministry of Commerce was mandated to generate the letters of instruction to liquidate the shares, which was carried out.

    He said after the sale of the shares, Fountain Securities remitted the funds in three installments to the state.

    Fatoki said the shares were sold at a discount, with the proceeds amounting to N4.3billion, adding that not all the shares were sold.

    The witness said the Christopher Alao-Akala administration ordered an investigation on the transaction, and a stockbroker, GTI Securities, was appointed to review Fountain Securities’ report on the transactions.

    Fatoki said N180million, which was part of the proceeds of the shares sales, was not remitted to the state.

    “GTI submitted its report to the state government. The report was reviewed and the state decided to cause a petition to be forwarded to the EFCC. I was named in the petition as one of the suspects,” the witness said.

    Under cross examination by Ladoja’s lawyer Mr Bolaji Onilenla, the witness said he was not part of those who authorised the sale of the shares.

    He said Fountain Securities had been the state’s portfolio manager since 2001.

    “They were initially contracted by the Lam Adesina administration for a three-year period, which was rolled over by the Ladoja administration,” he said.

    He said Fountain Securities gave cash gifts to government officials. On one occasion, he said the portfolio manager brought four cheques of N5million each.
    “The commissioner reached out to the political functionaries while I dealt with civil servants. The gifts were unrelated to the sale of Oyo State’s shares,” he said.

    EFCC re-arraigned Ladoja for allegedly converting N4.7billion from the state treasury to his personal use, eight years after he was first arraigned.
    Ladoja was charged along with his former Commissioner for Finance Waheed Akanbi on eight counts of money laundering and unlawful conversion of public funds.

    EFCC accused them of converting N1, 932,940,032.48 belonging to Oyo to their personal use through the Guaranty Trust Bank account of a company, Heritage Apartments Limited, despite knowing that it was proceed of crime.

    The prosecution said Ladoja removed £600,000 from the state coffers in 2007 and sent it to Bimpe Ladoja in London.

    Ladoja also allegedly bought an armoured Land Cruiser jeep with N42million for himself using public funds.

    EFCC said he converted N728,600,000 and another N77,850,000 at different times in 2007, and allegedly transferred N77, 850,000 to Bistrum Investments, which he nominated to help him purchase a property named Quarter 361 in Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

    The alleged offence, EFCC said, contravenes sections 17(a) and18 (1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004, punishable under sections 14(1), 16(a) (b) and 18(2).

    Ladoja and Akanbi pleaded not guilty.

    Ladoja was governor from May 29, 2003 to January 12, 2006 when he was impeached. On November 1, 2006, the Appeal Court Ibadan, declared the impeachment null and illegal.

    The Supreme Court upheld the decision on November 11, 2009, and Ladajo resumed office on December 12, 2006. He, however, lost a re-election bid.

    Justice Mohammed Idris adjourned until April 12 and 13 for continuation of trial.

    Read Also: EFCC arraigns ex-INEC staff in court for alleged N731m fraud

  • Ladoja congratulates Ajimobi

    Ladoja congratulates Ajimobi

    The governorship candidate of Accord in the 2015 election in Oyo State, Sen.  Rashidi Ladoja, has congratulated Governor Abiola Ajimobi on his victory at the Supreme Court.

    Ladoja had approached the apex court to upturn Ajimobi’s victory in the election after losing at the two lower tribunals. But the Supreme Court dismissed his petition Tuesday for lack of merit.

    Following his loss, Ladoja in a statement by his media aide, Lanre Latinwo Tuesday, congratulated Ajimobi on his victory and called for support for Ajimobi’s administration.

    He said the Supreme Court judgment brought the electoral process to an end.

    Ladoja, who is a former governor of the state, thanked his supporters, party faithfuls and everyone who supported him in the course of the election and judicial process.

    He stressed that this is the time to join hands with the governor to move the state forward, as the ruling of the Supreme Court puts finality to the election process.

    Ladoja said he would continue to offer himself for service of the people and improvement of the state.

    He also encouraged all the people in the state to work and pray for the governor towards the betterment of the state, adding that it’s only in a peaceful atmosphere that true development can take place.

  • Return N100m Arms money, Accord Party tells Ladoja

    Return N100m Arms money, Accord Party tells Ladoja

    National Secretary of the Accord Party, Dr. Samson Isibor, has asked the National Chairman of the party, Chief Rashidi Ladoja, to return the N100m collected from Chief Tony Anenih under the guise of campaigning for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Dr. Isibor said Chief Ladoja did not disclose receipt of the money to state chapters of the party.

    Speaking to our reporter in Benin City, Dr. Isibor, said the party was disturbed about the revelation from the arms deal scandal.

    Isibor urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to arrest and prosecute Chief Ladajo until the N100m is returned to the coffers.

    His words, “Ladoja should be made to return the money. No money was disbursed to state chapters of the Accord Party.”

    “What he did with the PDP without our consent was fraudulent.”