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Tag: Ladoja

  • Makarfi assures Ladoja, others of equal right in PDP

    Makarfi assures Ladoja, others of equal right in PDP

    The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Caretaker Committee, Ahmed Makarfi, on Thursday commenced the fence meeting with all the aggrieved members of the party in Oyo State.

    Makarfi assured former Governor of Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Ladoja and other aggrieved members of equal right and level playing field in the PDP.

    The party chief gave this assurance when he and other members of the PDP Reconciliatory Committee visited Ladoja in his Ondo Street, Ibadan, residence.

    The former Kaduna State governor arrived Ladoja’s house at 12.57 p.m. in company of Chief Jerry Gana, Elder Wole Oyelese, Hon. Mulikat Adeola Akande, Chief Jumoke Akinjide, Hon. Muraina Ajibola, Alhaji Azeem Gbolarumi, Dr. Eddy Olafeso, Gbenga Daniel, Senator Abdul Ningi and other top chieftains of the party.

    The Accord members who welcomed Makarfi included Senator Olufemi Lanlehin, Dr. Nureni Adisa, Dr. Nureni Adeniran and members of the state House of Assembly on the platform of Accord party.

    Ladoja, who is the National Leader of Accord party, however asked for a level playing field for him and his men.

    He said equal opportunity and rights is the only condition for joining the party.

    He said: “I don’t want to leave PDP. We were forced to leave PDP. Myself, Ngige and Fayose.

    “Mr. Chairman, what are the terms? If the terms are right and the term is that equality of everybody.

    “Ladoja is not coming to PDP, Ladoja and his people are coming. My colleagues in Accord, they are here, some members of Oyo State House of Assembly are here, have I spoken. We won eight seats in the state Assembly. That shows how strong we are.

    “I can say within the next two days, even next two hours, we can say come and raise our hands.

    “When we left PDP, we got a lot of offers. That is why we are in Accord. I want to assure you that it is the desire of everybody to send this government away.

    Makarfi said: “Politics is dynamic. The convention we planned, there is going to be constitution amendment to address the issue of internal democracy. Only last week, during the primary of our party in Anambra, we granted waiver to a gubernatorial aspirant. These issues you have raised.

    “Don’t nurse any fear, let’s start together. We have a committee which seeks to harmonise everybody; let’s start afresh.

    “You have not committed any offence to get amnesty. We want to integrate you back. It is better they get integrated under our leadership before the convention. The earlier the better.”

  • Delegates stand for Ladoja, Akala at PDP parley

    Delegates stand for Ladoja, Akala at PDP parley

    Two former governors of Oyo State – Rashidi Ladoja and Adebayo Alao-Akala – were represented at a parley of some Oyo and Osun chieftains of the Peoples Democratic party (PDP) with National Caretaker Chairman Ahmed Makarfi in Abuja yesterday.

    Senator Femi Lanlehin told the meeting that he was representing Ladoja.

    Mr. Wale Ohu said he stood in for ALao-Akala.

    It was the clearest indication that Ladoja, who left the PDP to become the promoter of Accord party and Alao-Akala, who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), might be on their way back to the PDP.

    Former Senate Deputy Chief Whip Senator Hosea Agboola told our correspondent that the two former governors had agreed to rejoin the PDP

    Agboola said: “Yes, I can confirm to you that the two former governors have agreed to return to the PDP. They said they are coming but they have not come yet”.

    Some of the other PDP leader at the parley awere: Senators Iyiola Omisore, Akinlabi  Olasunkanmi, Senator Olu Alabi, Senator  Femi Fani-Kayode, Senator Lanlehin and Senator Agbooola, among others

    Makarfi cautioned party members against the culture of impunity, for the party to make progress.

    Warning against cutting corners to achieve ambitions, the party chair said such actions could be counter productive, stressing that the culture of impunity was partly responsible for the party’s past crises.

    He said: “We must stop cutting corners. We live in a high litigious society. When you cut corners thinking that nobody will see you, a lot of people have seen you. At a time you least expect, somebody will drag you to court again. Therefore, what is worth doing is worth doing well”.

    Stating that internal wrangling could only weaken the PDP, Makarfi said nobody stands to gain from disunity.

    “We are not in politics to suffer but (to) form government. PDP was the dominant party but internal crises caused us to lose the election”, he added.

    He stressed the need to consolidate the party’s recent victory at the Supreme Court by doing the right thing all the time.

    Makarfi said: “Political victory means expanding the scope of the party, reconciling with the reconcilable and attracting members into the party that will enable us regain political power at the centre by overwhelming majority,” he stated.

    “Some of us that have been occupied by power acquisition, whether they are in the party or they are contemplating to come into the party, ?they are more glued to the acquisition of political power, that can derail the party.

    “Let’s build a strong and virile political party. Let there be a level playing field for people to freely choose who they want to present as party’s candidates. That is the surest way to get to power come 2019. That is what internal democracy entails.

    “While opening our doors wide to all and sundry, the party must be conscious that the structure must not be compromised in a way that diminishes the enthusiasm.

    “I will stick to the party guidelines and constitution in doing whatever we do. We must consult on fundamental issues, use consensus as much as possible and move forward”.

    The party chairman assured the gathering of neutrality, objectivity and transparency in the running of the affairs of the party by entrenching the culture of inclusiveness.

    Makarfi enjoined those shopping for platforms to feed their political ambitions rather than building the party to have a rethink.

  • Oyo APC to Ladoja: don’t rewrite history on Ibadan circular road

    Oyo APC to Ladoja: don’t rewrite history on Ibadan circular road

    The Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has described as ridiculous and misconceived the claim by former Governor Rashidi Ladoja that his administration conceived the Ibadan circular road.

    Kick-starting the N70 billion project on Friday, Governor Abiola Ajimobi said the idea was conceived by the Lam Adesina administration in 2002.

    But Ladoja, who was governor between 2003 and 2007, faulted Ajimobi, saying his administration conceived it.

    Ladoja spoke through Accord Party (A), which he leads in the state.

    The statement by APC’s Director of Publicity and Strategy, Olawale Sadare, condemned Accord Party’s claim.

    APC said Ladoja was attempting to rewrite history.

    The statement reads: “In the history of Nigeria, between 2003 and 2007 represents an era when little or no development took place in Oyo State as a result of reign of terror occasioned by the hijack of power by some characters who should not have had any business in government. This was a period when violence, brigandage and lawlessness became the order of the day while those at the helms of affairs could not do anything meaningful for the people.

    “But for pettiness and vindictiveness, a supposed senior citizen should not have instigated any controversy over the idea of designing and constructing a circular road for a sprawling metropolis like Ibadan. The records are there for those seeking to alter history because the fact remains that the administration of Alhaji Lamidi Onaolapo Adesina came up with the idea in 2002 but paucity of fund aborted the plan.

    “On this note, it is important to remind former governor Ladoja that incompetence, battle for political survival and corruption heralded his reign for four years such that his administration winded up without any concrete achievement for the state. Also, the ill-conceived contract award of the circular road project he did as soon as he came back from his impeachment break in 2007 was cancelled by the Alao-Akala administration immediately he came to power to succeed Ladoja.

    “However, if the latest spate of attacks against the person of the performing Sen. Ajimobi is aimed at preparing a ground for Ladoja to come out of political retirement which the APC handed him in 2015, we make bold to have a rethink as no amount of such antics would either make the good people of the state fall for gerontocracy or misconstrue the sterling performance and astute leadership of Gov. Ajimobi for something else.”

    The APC added that Ajimobi would go down in the history of Oyo State “as a governor who raised the bar of good governance and purposeful leadership by defying all odds occasioned by lack of funds, unfavorable economic condition and political distractions to deliver on peace and security, massive infrastructural facelift, value re-orientation, key sectors development among others.

    “However, we urge Sen. Ladoja to desist from seeking to rubbish all the good work of the present administration in the state in their bid to warm up for another disgraceful outing in 2019. We wonder what could have made anyone to condemn massive projects like the ICR, Technical University and many others if not sheer hypocrisy and cluelessness. The truth remains that never again the good people of Oyo State wish for a governor who would not know what to do in government to move the Pacesetter State forward in whatever circumstance.”

  • Ladoja, Balogun sue Ajimobi over Olubadan chieftaincy law reform

    The Otun and Osi Olubadan, High Chiefs Lekan Balogun and Rashidi Ladoja, who are Otun and Osi Olubadan respectively, have dragged Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo state before a state high court over his plan to reform the 1957 Olubadan Chieftaincy Law. The commission of inquiry set up by the government to recommend the reform was also joined in the suit.

    Senators Ladoja and Balogun are asking the court in the suit number m/317/2017 to restrain the seven-member Judicial Commission of Inquiry from sitting, accepting any memorandum or in any way taking any step in furtherance of its assignment, pending the determination of motion on notice in respect of the subject.

    Governor Abiola Ajimobi had on May 19, inaugurated the commission headed by retired Justice Akintunde Boade, with the mandate to, among others, review the existing requirement and qualification for ascendancy to the throne of the Olubadan and submit its report in four weeks.

    In the suit filed by their counsel, Michael Lana, on Friday, the Otun and Osi Olubadan contend that the judicial panel which was said to have been constituted under sections 10, 12 and 25 of the Chiefs Law 2000 was invalid, arguing that the governor lacks the power to change or amend the customary law relating to the selection of Olubadan.

    They insist that the primary aim of the Chiefs Law was that traditional institutions must be guided and operated not in accordance with modern dictates as argued by the governor but by the customary rules of each community. Ladoja and Balogun contend that only the Chieftaincy Committee which made the 1957 Olubadan Declaration and which must be peopled by recognised chiefs and not any judicial commission could amend the law.

    “Before setting up the commission, the governor never said that any of the situations happened to the 1957 Olubadan Declaration that has been used seamlessly without conflict, dispute or rancor to enthrone successive Olubadans. The provision relating to the declaration is mainly to put the customary law into written instrument in the custody of the government and not that it gives the government the right to change the customary law relating to a chieftaincy to suit its own purpose.

    Apart from the alleged illegality of the commission, the claimants said only two members of the panel are Ibadan indigenes, adding that it was improper for non-Ibadans to determine the fate of Ibadan indigenes on issues relating to the emergence of the Olubadan. “That Ibadan has issues with Oyo over the Council of Obas and one of the members of the commission, Prince Wasiu Gbadegesin, is in line to the throne of Alaafin of Oyo and will therefore be biased against the peaceful and rancor-free method of selecting the Olubadan of Ibadanland.”

  • Revisiting Gov Ladoja’s impeachment

    Revisiting Gov Ladoja’s impeachment

    HE who has not read the interview granted The Sun newspaper yesterday by Hazeem Gbolarumi, a former deputy governor of Oyo State, does not know just how steeply Nigeria has declined or how close the country was a few years back to total moral and intellectual bankruptcy. Mr Gbolarumi was a personal assistant to the late strongman of Ibadan politics, the infamous Lamidid Adedibu. He later became deputy governor when he was foisted on both Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala and Oyo State after the impeachment of Governor Rashidi Ladoja in January 2006. As personal assistant to Alhaji Adedibu, and nothing more, Mr Gbolarumi was charged with the responsibility of leading the thuggish revolt against the elected governor. He successfully executed that villainy. He was thereafter rewarded with the deputy governorship position. Since then he has had about 11 years to reflect on the role he played in the saga. Excerpted below, from The Sun interview, is all the reflection Mr Gbolarumi appears capable of:

    “Ladoja’s attitude irked not only Adedibu, but also other notable PDP leaders in Oyo State that time. They tried to call Ladoja to order but he snubbed all entreaties by these eminent party leaders including Chief Richard Akinjide, Alhaji Yekini Adeojo, and a former governor of the state, late Chief Kolapo Ishola. Even when the party summoned Ladoja to appear before a panel to defend himself against these allegations, he failed to appear before the panel.

    “I remember many of these eminent party leaders expressing shock that they didn’t know that Ladoja could change like that after being elected governor. They were all disappointed. It was at that point that a decision was taken that Ladoja should be impeached. That he can’t be greater than the political party on which platform he got elected into office.

    “So, the decision to impeach Ladoja was a collective one. The order to sack or impeach Ladoja was given by PDP leaders, after a meeting was held to discuss the issue. Adedibu was only saddled with the task of enforcing Ladoja’s impeachment. It was not just his own making. A lot of Nigerians who don’t know the root of the whole matter had been very unfair to Baba Adedibu. Adedibu, just like my humble self, only carried out party’s orders…

    “Baba Adedibu is not alive today, but it would be unfair for people to continue to lie against him, and again if people like me, who played a key role in the whole saga, failed to set the record straight, that would be very unfortunate.

    “I make bold to declare once again through this medium that the decision to impeach Ladoja was not taken solely by Adedibu. It was the party elders and leaders who mandated Adedibu to effect Ladoja’s impeachment. At the meeting where these leaders decided to impeach Ladoja, I was made the chairman of the task force to effect the impeachment. I was asked to lead PDP supporters, not just Adedibu’s supporters to Government House and Oyo State House of Assembly to sack ex-governor Ladoja and those lawmakers loyal to him. Thank God, I was able to execute the operation successfully.”

    Here is the takeaway. (1) Mr Gbolarumi is unable to see that the impeachment was not really an impeachment but a coup against democracy planned and orchestrated outside the House of Assembly and for reasons that had nothing to do with constitutional infractions. (2) Gov Ladoja was impeached because he was not taking orders from Alhaji Adedibu and the party. Of course Alhaji Adedibu was the party. Mr Gbolarumi justifies the grounds of the impeachment. Nay, he gloats in them. (3) As proof of the disgusting use to which Nigerians have put religion, Mr Gbolarumi thanks God for enabling him to lead the thuggish revolt against an elected governor outside the provisions of the constitution. (4) The nullification of the impeachment by the courts and Gov Ladoja’s reinstatement were not sufficient to make Mr Gbolarumi remorseful or reflective.

    As Mr Gbolarumi demonstrated in the interview, subverting the rule of law comes natural to many Nigerians. Ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo connived at the impeachment of Gov Ladoja, as indeed he connived at the impeachment of two other governors, both of which he excused on the grounds of fighting corruption. The Buhari presidency is of course also in its own unique way subverting the rule of law despite its protestations to the contrary. Either because of lack of discipline or lack of appreciation of the internal logic of the concept, many Nigerians still see the rule of law as a dispensable tool. It will perhaps take a disaster as gross as that which Adolf Hitler enacted in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s to convince Nigerians that neither business nor politics, let alone human rights, can flourish in the absence of the rule of law. Mr Gbolarumi is a disgraceful reminder of the dark era Nigeria wilfully, foolishly and actively participated in.

  • Witness: Ladoja bought 22 cars to avoid impeachment

    Witness: Ladoja bought 22 cars to avoid impeachment

    A witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Adewale Atanda, yesterday told the Federal High Court, Lagos, that former Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja bought 22 vehicles for lawmakers in 2005, to avoid being impeached.

    Atanda, a lawyer, said 14 of the vehicles were distributed among Ladoja’s loyalists in the House of Assembly.

    The remaining eight were shared among his relations, the witness said.

    Atanda said the 14 lawmakers were those whose loyalty Ladoja was sure of, among the 22 he required to stop his impeachment.

    The House of Assembly, he noted, had 32 lawmakers and for Ladoja to have stopped his impeachment he needed 22 votes.

    Atanda testified as the second prosecution witness before Justice Mohamed Idris in the trial of Ladoja and Wahab Akanbi, a former commissioner for Finance.

    The accused were re-arraigned in December on an eight-count charge of  laundering N4.7billion, contrary to Section 17(a) and punishable under Section 14(1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004.

    Led in evidence by EFCC prosecutor, Oluwafemi Olabisi, Atanda claimed to have met Ladoja in 2000 as party members, when he (Atanda) was vying for a senatorial seat.

    He explained how the Ladoja administration encountered political difficulty after he became governor.

    Atanda said: “Well, I don’t know exactly how it started but it appeared as if there was a rift between members of the House of Assembly on one hand and some political actors and some other external influences from Abuja on the other hand.

    “Very many attempts were made to remove Senator Ladoja from office; various petitions were written and at the end an impeachment process was set in motion.

    “Oyo State has 32 House of Assembly members and to successfully impeach the governor, it would require two-third majority support. That will be about 22 members.

    “In order to secure the loyalty of these 22 members, certain promises were made by different political actors. One of such was that loyal members would be given vehicles.

    “In the course of all these, I discussed with Senator Ladoja and explained to him that it was important that that these promises be kept.

    “At the material time, it was rather impossible to buy these vehicles because they were not included in the budget, so, we started looking for alternative ways to accommodate the request.”

    He said he eventually obtained a loan of N80millon from Wema Bank with his personal assets to assist Ladoja, who was his political associate.

    “The vehicles were bought and collected from the various dealers by the drivers of the Oyo State government and delivered to the Government House in Ibadan. Despite this, I think, by December 2005, the governor was impeached.”

    After the impeachment, Atanda said Ladoja and his allies, including the 14 lawmakers, fled and regrouped in Lagos.

    He said Ladoja was responsible for their welfare.

    The lawmakers demanded a monthly income of N1million each after their salaries and allowances were stopped.

    Ladoja, he added, also assembled a team of lawyers, who increased their fees from N50 million to N370 million, before they agreed to challenge the impeachment up to the Supreme Court.

    Justice Idris adjourned till March 27.

  • Ladoja’s trial for alleged N4.7b theft aborted

    Ladoja’s trial for alleged N4.7b theft aborted

    The trial of former Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja was aborted on Tuesday after Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos insisted that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) must comply with the law.

    Eight years after he was first arraigned, EFCC re-arraigned Ladoja for allegedly converting N4.7billion from the state treasury to his personal use.

    He was charged along with Waheed Akanbi on eight counts of money laundering and unlawful conversion of public funds.

    Prosecution counsel Femi Olabisi called his first witness, an EFCC investigator, Abdullahi Lawal.

    Ladoja
    Ladoja

     

    As Lawal was about to begin his testimony, Ladoja’s lawyer Bolaji Onilenle and Akanbi’s lawyer Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika objected on the basis that he was not listed as a witness.

    Onilenle said: “His name is not on the list of witnesses. We are surprised. Section 379 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 mandates the prosecution to make a list of witnesses available to defendants.”

    Olumide-Fusika said he has no idea what the witness was going to say and was not prepared to cross-examine him.

    “EFCC ought to be ready before bringing us to court. It must be ready before arraignment,” he said.

    Olabisi apologised, saying the case was prepared before the ACJA came into effect.
    He sought for more time to “put his house in order”.

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    The counsel asked that the dates previously fixed for the trial, including today and tomorrow, be vacated.

    Adebisi said some of his witnesses were in Abuja, Kaduna and Port Harcourt, so he would need time to prepare their statements.

    Although the defence counsel said Lawal could testify to save time, Justice Mohammed Idris said it would be better for the prosecution to comply with the law.

    He said: “Section 379 is mandatory. We’ll go with speed but in accordance with the law. Let’s do it within the ambit of the law. Let’s not overlook the issue and proceed.

    “The prosecution should ensure that a summary of the issues and list of witnesses are made available to the defence before trial commences.”

    Ladoja was first arraigned before Justice A.R. Mohammed in 2008, but he objected to the charge.

    He obtained a stay of proceedings after filing an interlocutory appeal, which was dismissed by the Supreme Court.

    The EFCC accused Ladoja and Akanbi of converting N1,932,940,032.48 belonging to Oyo to their personal use through the Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) account of a company, Heritage Apartments Limited.

    The prosecution said Ladoja removed £600,000 (about N240,219,945) from the state coffers in 2007 and sent it to Bimpe Ladoja in London.

    Ladoja also allegedly bought a N42million armoured Toyota Land Cruiser using public funds.

    EFCC said he converted N728,600,000 and another N77,850,000 in 2007, and allegedly transferred N77, 850,000 to Bistrum Investments, which he nominated to help him buy a property, Quarter 361, in Ibadan.

    Ladoja and Akanbi pleaded not guilty.

    Justice Idris adjourned till March 1 for trial.

  • Clark queries prosecution of Kalu, Ladoja

    Clark queries prosecution of Kalu, Ladoja

    Ijaw National Leader Chief Edwin Clark has criticised the reopening of corruption charges against two former governors with the exclusion of others having similar cases.
    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recently reopened corruption charges against former Abia State Governor Orji Uzor Kalu and his Oyo State counterpart, Chief Rasheed Ladoja.
    Clark wondered why only the two were on trial.
    In an open letter to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) yesterday, the elder statesman wondered why Kalu and Ladoja alone were being re-arraigned while other former governors and ministers, who he said faced varying money laundering charges, nine years ago, walked freely.
    Praising the crusade against corruption by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, the Ijaw leader warned the leadership of anti-graft agencies to ensure there was no favouritism or nepotism in the fight against graft.
    He said no offender or suspect should be treated as “sacred cows”.
    Clark noted that the retrial of the duo might create the impression “that certain persons are untouchables, sacrosanct and above the law”.
    The Ijaw leader added that this may not go down well with the disposition of the current administration.
    He said: “Those heading the anti-graft agencies must be seen to be above board in the discharge of their duties by playing according to the rules. A situation whereby cases of corruption have been abandoned in the courts for years is unimaginable. Now that they want to reopen them, only very few of them seem to be selected for re-arraignment.
    “The EFCC, recently, rearraigned former governors Kalu of Abia State and Ladoja of Oyo State, before the courts for alleged fraud committed… It would be recalled that these former governors were charged to court at the same time with some of their colleagues who equally served as governors in their various states about nine years ago. Some of them are today distinguished senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with some of them having been in the Senate for eight years. This negates the principle of ‘unbiasedness’ and impartiality.”
    Recalling his past open letters, which called for the probe of some ex-government officials, Clark noted that while some had been tried and prosecuted, the cases of other were abandoned again.
    He said: “Between the times I addressed these open letters and now, some of the persons I mentioned in the letters have been prosecuted and some others freed. For instance, James Onanefe Ibori has been prosecuted and is almost finishing his jail term of 13 years in the United Kingdom (UK), while Femi Fani-Kayode has formally been tried and found not guilty. Michael Botmang died in January, 2014.
    “Also, since my open letters, some other former governors have been arraigned before the courts for similar offences, their cases abandoned again. They include Gbenga Daniel, former Governor of Ogun State; Ikedi Ohakim, former Governor of Imo State; Murtala Nyako, former Governor of Adamawa State; Danjuma Goje, former Governor of Gombe State, who today is a distinguished senator and Chairman of Senate Committee on Appropriation; as well as Sule Lamido, former Governor of Jigawa State and his two sons. They have all been granted bail, with no further action.”

  • Ladoja, aide re-arraigned for money laundering

    Ladoja, aide re-arraigned for money laundering

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday re-arraigned a former Governor of Oyo State, Rashidi Ladoja, before a Federal High Court, Lagos, over N4.7 billion money laundering.

    Ladoja was arraigned alongside his former aide, Waheed Akanbi, on eight- count charge of money laundering, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    The duo pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    After their pleas were taken, the prosecutor, Mr. Oluwafemi Olabisi, asked the court to fix a date for commencement of trial.

    The defence counsel, Mr. Bolaji Onilenla and Mr. Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, informed the court of their clients’ bail applications.

    Onilenla, representing Ladoja, urged the court to allow his client to continue on the bail conditions earlier granted him in 2008 by Justice A.R. Mohammed.

    He submitted that the first accused had kept good faith with the terms and conditions of the bail and that there was no single incidence of default.

    He assured the court that his client will “behave himself’’ and make himself available for trial.

    Onilenla said in case the court is not inclined to allowing Ladoja to continue with the previous bail conditions, it should grant him bail on liberal terms.

    Counsel to the other accused person, Olumide-Fusika, also aligned himself with the submissions of Onilenla.

    The prosecutor objected to the bail application and urged the court to refuse the same on the grounds that the accused had frustrated trial for years through their appeals challenging the competence of the charges.

     

  • Money laundering: Court rejects bid to arrest Ladoja

    Money laundering: Court rejects bid to arrest Ladoja

    A Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday refused to issue arrest warrant  on a former governor of Oyo State, Rasheed Ladoja, following his presence in court.

    At the last adjourned date on November 21, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had urged the court to issue a bench warrant against Ladoja for failing to appear in court and answer N4.7 billion money laundering charges preferred against the ex-governor, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    Ladoja’s counsel, Mr. Bolaji Onilenla in his reactions to the application, told the court that he was not aware that the business of the day was for arraignment.

    “This was because there was a pending case before the Supreme Court,” the counsel added.