The Nation Newspaper

Tag: EFCC

  • EFCC to judge: Don’t disqualify yourself from Fani-Kayode’s trial

    EFCC to judge: Don’t disqualify yourself from Fani-Kayode’s trial

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has asked Justice Muslim Hassan of the Federal High Court in Lagos not to disqualify himself from adjudicating the trial of former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode.

    The commission said the former minister’s application for the judge to recuse himself was a bid to “scuttle” the trial.

    EFCC arraigned Fani-Kayode with former Minister of State for Finance, Senator Nenadi Usman, on a 17-count charge of laundering about N4.6billion. They pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    They were charge along with a former National Chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) and ex-Chairman of Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Mr. Yusuf Danjuma and a company, Jointrust Dimentions Nigeria Limited.

    Fani-Kayode said Justice Hassan, who worked as Head of Legal Unit at the EFCC before his appointment as a judge, signed the money laundering charge for which he was previously tried and acquitted by Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumobia on July 1, 2015.

    But, EFCC, in its counter-affidavit deposed to by Idris Mohammed, urged the judge not to grant Fani-Kayode’s application.

    The commission said Justice Hassan only signed the charge against Fani-Kayode in compliance with EFCC’s policy that a charge assigned to a private legal practitioner must be signed by the zone head of legal unit.

    The prosecution said Justice Hassan never had any personal contact with Fani-Kayode, and was not a member of the team of investigators and prosecutors that handled the former minister’s trial.

  • EFCC recovers looted funds in foreign currencies

    EFCC recovers looted funds in foreign currencies

    The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, on Thursday said the commission recovered N102,913,791,217.54,  $8,296,313.99,  GBP 29,155,  £12,475, 117,004 Canadian Dollar, 806.50 Dirham, 5,000 Francs and 2,000 Rupee as proceeds of crime between January and December 2016.

    Magu, who appeared before the Hon. Kayode Oladele-led House Committee on Financial Crimes, also confirmed the recovery of $9.750 million and £750,000 from a residence in Kaduna recently, adding that N1.25 billion was recovered from a public servant a fortnight ago.

    The EFCC chief was in the House of Representatives for 2016 budget appraisal and 2017 budget defence.

    According to a document submitted by Magu to the committee, out of the 37 accounts frozen/forfeited, six banks are yet to provide relevant information on the amount accrued into the suspected accounts during the period under review.

    The commission, according to him, secured 135 convictions last year.

    He said 46  of the convictions were from Lagos zone, 30 from Abuja, 22 from Port Harcourt, 19 from Kano, 15 from Enugu, and three from Gombe.

     

  • EFCC froze my account to embarrass me – Ozekhome

    Lawyer –turned rights activist, Chief Mike Ozekhome, has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of descending into arena of politics rather than concentrating on its constitutional duties of fighting graft.

    Ozekhome said the freezing of his accounts by the anti-graft agency was politically motivated and calculated to embarrass him for his criticisms of the All Progressives Congress (APC) -led Federal Government.

    Speaking with journalists in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, on Thursday, Ozekhome alleged that the EFCC has become “an instrument of political oppression and intimidation unleashed by the APC government against perceived opponents and critics.”

    He vowed to file a suit against the EFCC to reverse the blocking of his account “very soon.”

    The EFCC earlier in the week obtained an interim court order from a Federal High Court in Lagos to freeze Ozekhome’s account domiciled at Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) which contained the sum of N75 million purportedly paid by Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, as legal fees.

    The EFCC body alleged that the money paid Ozekhome as professional fees were proceeds of crime.

    The lawyer said he was being punished for defending Fayose, his aides and associates in series of court cases in the country, saying the money paid to him was his legitimate professional fee which had nothing to do with money laundering.

    Ozekhome said: “I can’t be ruffled for this action, because I have not done illegal, illegitimate or illicit or something out of ordinary. Governor Fayose paid me my professional fee, which was a sum of N75m out of the humongous amount owed me over cases I am handling for him, his aides and friends.

    “I am currently prosecuting eight cases on his behalf. The one involving Abiodun Agbele and Zenith Bank, Femi Fani-Kayode’s wife and others. As a professional, I had given my professional fees but the governor could not pay because his accounts had been frozen by EFCC, which makes the governor financially strangulated.”

     

     

     

  • EFCC arraigns four persons for alleged fraud

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday arraigned the quartet of Umar Bida, Truth Igogori, Ifenyinwa Nwankwesiri and Ogechukwu Obaji, at the Federal High Court, Abuja, for alleged one million dollars fraud.

    The defendants are standing trial on a nine-count charge of conspiracy, forgery and obtaining by false pretence, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    They were arraigned alongside four companies – Universal Contractors, Lambda Energy Services Limited, Double Wonder Concept Limited, and ICS Energy Services Limited.

    The prosecution alleged that the defendants in 2014 allegedly conspired to defraud Donald Latella of North Park LLC of the money under the pretext of supplying about two million barrels of Bonny Light Crude Oil.

    The offence, according to EFCC, contravenes Section 8 (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.

    The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    Upon their plea, Counsel to the EFCC, Mr. Onjefu Obe, asked the court for a date to present his witnesses.

    He also urged the court to remand the defendants in Kuje Prison pending the commencement of their trial.

  • Ex- minister: Alleged N450m campaign cash came from oil marketers

    Ex- minister: Alleged N450m campaign cash came from oil marketers

    Barely a few hours after he was granted bail, a former Minister of National Planning, Prof. Abubakar Olanrewaju Sulaiman, said the N450million campaign fund, which he was charged with, came from oil marketers.

    He said the cash was part of voluntary donations made to the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan by some undisclosed marketers.

    He also said neither him nor a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Dele Belgore, personally benefited from the money.

    Sulaiman, who made the clarifications in a statement in Abuja against the backdrop of his arraignment before a Federal High Court in Lagos, said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has no business investigating private donations.

    The statement said: “Recently, Mr. Dele Belgore (SAN) and my humble self, were invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to its Lagos Office for questioning on N450million campaign fund during the 2015 presidential elections.

    “Of course, we were in the EFCC’s custody for a few days and today, by the grace of God, we were granted bail on self-recognisance.

    “It is however apt to put the record straight and situate the development within the context of the politics currently playing out under the present administration.

    “I wish to state unequivocally that this didn’t come to me as a surprise. It is a continuation of politics by other means, and that has nothing to do with the source of election funds that emanated from the presidential campaign office.

    “The question is; what has EFCC got to do with donations voluntarily made by oil marketers to Jonathan government?

    “The commission, in a bid to implicate us and set the general public against us, was busy struggling and frantically searching for better word to use. The whole charade is an abuse of prosecutorial power.

    “But I assure you it cannot stand in any court of law. We shall fight hard to prove our innocence and I believe the judiciary is there to do justice to this case. Thank God, we are not being alleged to personally enrich ourselves with the so-called fund.”

     

  • Alleged fraud: I am ready for trial – Shema

    Alleged fraud: I am ready for trial – Shema

    A former Governor of Katsina State, Ibrahim Shema, on Wednesday said he is ready for trial on the alleged N1billion fraud case brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    But the ex-governor said he is prepared to defend himself in an atmosphere of fair hearing, justice and rule of law.

    He, however, faulted botched attempt to abduct him by some agents of the Katsina State Government.

    Shema, who made his position known in a statement issued by his Head of Media Team, Mr. Oluwabusola Olawale, said the failed abduction showed that his life is in danger.

    The statement said:  “We are saying it for the umpteenth time that Shema is not afraid of court trial. He has submitted himself to the court and he is ready to defend himself in an atmosphere of fair hearing, justice and rule of law.

    “We are calling on the international community and well-meaning Nigerians to call Governor Aminu Bello Masari to order on his use of state and federal institutions for political intimidation and harassment, before Masari and his aides, through desperation, truncate democratic institutions in Nigeria.

    “It is also necessary to remind Governor Masari that he has a tenure opportunity which he must not squander on witch-hunting his predecessor because what goes around comes around.”

    The ex-governor condemned failed attempt to abduct him at the premises of Katsina High Court by some agents of the state government.

    He accused Governor Masari of allegedly persecuting him.

    The statement added: “The failed attempt to abduct former Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at the premises of Katsina State High Court by security agents  who were being used by Governor Aminu Bello Masari and his aides, despite the ruling of the court to maintain status quo on the bail granted  Shema pending the determination of the matter before the court,  has confirmed that the ongoing corruption case against Shema and his former aides is not about court trial and rule of law, but sheer personal vendetta and a wicked attempt to humiliate, and harass the immediate past governor.

    “It was on record that few days before the sitting of the court,  it was reported in the media that there was a plot by Governor Aminu Bello Masari and his aides to humiliate, denigrate and condemn Ibrahim Shehu Shema, which we took for granted because we never thought they could stoop so low.

    “But the failed abduction and desperation of Governor Masari and his aides have been confirmed to us that there is a sinister move to probably harm former Governor Shema.”

     

  • Ex-minister to court: I need cancer treatment abroad

    Ex-minister to court: I need cancer treatment abroad

    A former Minister of State for Finance, Senator Nenadi Usman, has asked Justice Muslim Hassan of the Federal High Court in Lagos to permit her to travel abroad to receive treatment for breast cancer.

    She said doctors at the National Hospital in Abuja recommended that she receives further treatment abroad after suffering a relapse following a surgery.

    Her application, however, could not be heard because the judge ruled that he would first consider a pending application challenging the court’s jurisdiction.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned Usman alongside a former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode.

    Also arraigned are former National Chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) and ex-Chairman of Kagarko local government area of Kaduna State, Mr. Yusuf Danjuma and a company said to belong to him, Jointrust Dimentions Nigeria Limited.

    EFCC arraigned them on a 17-count charge of laundering about N4.6billion. They pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    Fani-Kayode, in his pending application, is asking the judge to disqualify himself because he was “worried and terrified” that he would not get a fair hearing from Justice Hassan.

    He is asking the judge to decline jurisdiction and transfer the case to the court’s Abuja division, adding that Justice Hassan, who worked as a prosecutor at the Federal Ministry of Justice and later seconded to the EFCC, signed the charge for which he was previously tried and acquitted by Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumobia for money laundering

    Usman, in her applications, is praying the court to allow her to be tried separately from Fani-Kayode and for her trial to be transferred from Lagos to Abuja for convenience.

    Usman’s lawyer, Mr. Abiodun Owonikowo (SAN), on Wednesday prayed the court to consider the former minister’s application to travel for medical reasons.

    According to him, since it was a matter of life and death, the judge could hear it before all other applications.

     

  • Court rules Feb 21 on EFCC’s case against ex-gov Shema

    Court rules Feb 21 on EFCC’s case against ex-gov Shema

    Justice Ibrahim Bako of the Katsina High Court has fixed February 21, for ruling on whether the court has jurisdiction to try the suit filed by the EFCC against former Katsina State governor, Ibrahim Shema.
    Shema was arraigned by the EFCC before the court for alleged financial misappropriation during his tenure.
    He was arraigned together with a former commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs, Sani Makana, a former chairman, Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) , Lawal Dankaba and former permanent secretary, Lawal Safana.
    The defence counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN, has earlier filed a motion in the last sitting challenging the jurisdiction of the court to try his client.
    During yesterday’s proceedings, he raised same issues, saying that the court has no jurisdiction to entertain the case because the charge was filed by a Federal Government agency.
    “It is a serious constitutional problem for a Federal Government agency to take over the state in prosecution of criminal cases,’’ he contended, and prayed the court to strike out the case for want of competence.
    Daudu also filed another application seeking the court to restrain the EFCC from further arresting of his client.
    However, the prosecution counsel, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, argued that the EFCC has right to try the case before the court.
    He said EFCC was a coordinating agency saddled with responsibility of investigation, enforcement and prosecution of matters relating to alleged financial crimes.
    The judge adjourned the case to Feb. 21, for ruling on the issue of jurisdiction raised by the defence.
    A mild drama took place at the court premises when EFCC operatives attempted to re-arrest Shema, claiming that his administrative bail had lapsed, but his lawyers come to his defence.

  • N75m is part payment of legal fees from Fayose – Ozekhome

    N75m is part payment of legal fees from Fayose – Ozekhome

    Human rights lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), said on Tuesday the N75million frozen by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in his account was a part payment of legal fees by Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose.

    He said the fund was for legal services he rendered the governor in his personal capacity, and to his aides.

    “For the records, the N75million was paid into my account by my client, Governor Fayose of Ekiti State as part payment of professional fees for the numerous cases my chambers is currently handling for him (in his personal capacity) and his aides across Nigeria. The money is neither ‘suspected proceeds of crime’ or of money laundering,” he said in a statement.

    Ozekhome said he represented Fayose against EFCC before Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court in Ekiti.

    He said the judge on January 31 dismissed EFCC’s motion seeking to restrain the governor from withdrawing the remaining balance from his account that was earlier frozen by the commission but was de-frozen by the judge.

    EFCC has appealed the ruling.

    The senior advocate said: “The present action of EFCC is clearly calculated to overreach Governor Fayose. This will never happen. I will continue to defend beleaguered and oppressed Nigerians from the antics and highhandedness of publicly-funded government institutions that breach their fundamental rights.

    “It is sickening and inconceivable that money legitimately and legally paid by a client to his solicitor from an unencumbered account wholly and totally defrozen and unblocked by the judgment of a competent court of law can be termed ‘suspected proceeds of crime or money laundering.

    “I am practicing lawyer, not a government employee, contractor or a businessman. I have never laundered and will never launder any money in my life.

    “It is so shameful and disgusting when we make ourselves a laughing stock before international circles through brazen unconstitutional acts by publicly-funded government institutions just to silence all critical voices of reason and plurality of ideas.

    “I shall take immediate legal steps to defreeze the account in the event that the EFCC does not immediately voluntarily vacate the said order.”

  • Court freezes Ozekhome’s account over suspicious N75m lodgment

    Court freezes Ozekhome’s account over suspicious N75m lodgment

    The Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday ordered a temporary forfeiture of N75million found in the account of an activist-lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN).

    The account is domiciled in Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB).

    The order followed an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Justice Abdulaziz Anka gave the order based on motion ex-parte filed by the commission.

    EFCC prayed the court to freeze Ozakhome’s account temporarily on the ground that the N75 million was suspected to be proceed of crime.

    The commission said the lawyer deposited the money last December 15.

    EFCC’s lawyer Mohammed Idris moved the application.

    An EFCC investigator, Tosin Owobo, who swore to an affidavit of urgency, prayed the court to grant the application.

    The commission asked that the account be temporary frozen for 120 days pending conclusion of investigation.

    Justice Anka granted the prayer, adding that any party not satisfied with the ruling could appeal.