Tag: Ohakim

Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the  Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered a former Governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim, to defend himself on the charges of money laundering brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The judge gave the order in a ruling yesterday on the no-case submission made for Ohakim by his lawyers – Awa Kalu (SAN) and Chris Uche (SAN).

Justice Ademola, who dismissed the no-case submission, held that the prosecution established, through  its six witnesses, a prima facie case against Ohakim to warrant his being called upon to enter defence.

Ohakim was arraigned at the court on a three-count charge of money laundering on July 8, 2015, to which he pleaded not guilty.

The ex-governor is accused of purchasing a property at 60, Kwame Nkrumah Street, Plot  1098, Cadastral ZoneA04, Asokoro District, Abuja, with cash payment of $2.29 million, which was said to be the dollar equivalent of N270 million in November 2008.

The offence is said to be contrary to Section 1 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2004 and punishable under Section 15(1)(d)  of the same law.

Ohakim is also accused of attempting to conceal the ownership of the property by entering into an agreement as a tenant in the property .

The offence is said to be contrary to and punishable under Section 14(1b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.

He is further accused of failing to declare the property as part of his assets when asked by the EFCC to do so in January, 2014, thereby allegedly committing an offence under Section 27(b) and (c) of the EFCC Act and punishable under the same section.

The prosecution closed its case on May 5, 2016, after calling six witnesses. Rather than open his defence, Ohakim chose to make a no-case submission.

By his no-case submission, the defendant sought to convince the court to dismiss the charge against him on the grounds that the prosecution was unable to lead evidence to warrant him to be called upon to defend himself.

Had the court upheld the no-case submission, the defendant would have been discharged. But with the failure of the no-case submission, Ohakim is required to enter his defence by calling witnesses.

Justice Ademola adjourned to October 10 for the opening of Ohakim’s defence.

Scott Tommey, a witness in the trial of former Imo State Governor Ikedi Ohakim, yesterday told a Federal High Court in Abuja that the ex-governor lied when he told investigators that he earned dollars from a transaction between them.

Tommey, a Port Harcourt, Rivers State-based businessman, admitted that he bought Ohakim’s land in Maitama, Abuja, in 2012.

But the witness insisted that he neither paid in naira nor in U.S dollars cash but through bank transfer.

Ohakim, who was governor between 2007 and 2011, is being prosecuted on a three-count charge of money laundering and false asset declaration.

The former governor is accused of purchasing a property at 60, Kwame Nkrumah Street, Plot 1098, Cadastral Zone A04, Asokoro District in Abuja, with a cash payment of $2.29 million, said to be the dollar equivalent of N270 million, in November 2008.

He is also accused of failing to declare the property as part of his assets when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) asked him to do so.

Ohakim, in one of his statements to the EFCC, marked Exhibit EFCC 3, claimed to have bought Number 60, Kwame Nkwumah Street, Asokoro, Abuja, property with the dollars equivalent of N250 million, allegedly paid to him by Tommey for the Maitama land.

Testifying as the sixth prosecution witness, Tommey said: “It is totally false that he (the defendant) claimed that I paid him in U.S dollars. I paid through funds transfer. I never paid in cash. It was through funds transfer.”

The witness, who was led in evidence by prosecution lawyer Festus Keyamo, gave details of how he was introduced to Ohakim and how the transaction was done.

Tommey said he met the defendant just once, although he knew he was Imo State governor.

He said: “He had a property in Maitama, which was up for sale. I was in search of a property to develop. I had an agent, who got the property, the former governor’s land.

“The agent introduced me to him sometime in 2012. We bided and there was need to meet with the owner of the property.

“I met him and we agreed on N250 million, which was paid to him through my bank. I paid for the property through bank transfer – from Sterling to Fidelity Bank. I paid in naira.”

The witness confirmed a document from Sterling Bank, his banker, for the transfer instruction on N250 million from his company, Marypinch Limited, to Sir Ikedi Ohakim.

Asked by Keyamo how he would react to Ohakim’s claim in one of his statements to the EFCC that the witness paid in dollars, Tommey said: “It is totally false that he (the defendant) claimed that I paid him in U.S dollars. I paid through funds transfer; I never paid in cash. It was through funds transfer.”

On cross-examination by Ohakim’s lawyer, Awa Kalu (SAN), Tommey said he met Ohakim only once.

He said: “We never mentioned dollars in our transaction. It was agreed that it was going to be a bank transaction.”

The witness said he did not meet Ohakim in EFCC custody, since they were never made to confront each other.

Tommey said he was never confronted in the presence of the defendant on the alleged transaction in U.S dollars.

The prosecution called two witnesses – Mr. O. O. Ewhe, an official of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), who was invited to tender the exchange rate of naira to dollar when the transaction took place, and Nura Ali Barko, an EFCC operative, who gave account of how investigation into the matter was conducted.

Ewhe recalled that on November 14, 2008, when the transaction took place, the exchange rate of the naira to the dollars was N116,57.00. He added that it was the same rate on November 13.

Kalu did not cross-examine Ewhe.

Barko, a Senior Detective Superintendent with the EFCC, said he knew the defendant in the course of the investigation, sometime in 2012.

He said: “We arrested him in his house and brought him to the office. Part of what I did in the investigation was to write to some banks, precisely Sterling Bank and Fidelity Bank, concerning the complaint of Mr. Scott (the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Merryl-Fynch Nigeria Limited), who paid N250 million into the defendant’s account.

“He (Scott) gave us the account details and that of his company in Sterling Bank. From there, the team wrote to Sterling Bank for the Account Opening Package and instructions of Scott.”

Barko said the investigating team got a response from Sterling Bank, in the form of a letter, which Keyamo showed him and which he (the witness) confirmed as the response from Sterling Bank.

He said: “From the document from Sterling Bank, we found that there was an instruction from Mr. Scott’s company’s account to the defendant’s personal account in Fidelity Bank.

“Our investigation revealed that the transaction was for the transfer of N250 million for the purchase of the land at Maitama in Abuja.

“Mr. Scott was buying and the defendant was selling. The transaction was a transfer from Mr. Scott’s company’s account to the defendant’s account.”

Keyamo gave the witness one of Ohakim’s statements, marked ‘Exhibit 3’, from which he (Barko) read where the ex-governor claimed to have paid for the Asokoro property in U.S dollars.

“The reason I am paid in dollars is purely on convenience because I had dollars from the sale of my land in Maitama. I did not pay in cheque. I paid in dollars in cash,” the witness said, reading Ohakim’s statement.

Barko told the court that his investigation revealed that contrary to Ohakim’s claim, “the transaction (relating to the Maitama land) was not done in cash but through bank transfer and in naira equivalent, not in dollars”.

Under cross-examination, Barko said he was aware the defendant made several statements to the EFCC.

Kalu asked the witness to read another statement by Ohakim, marked ‘Exhibit 5’, where Ohakim said he withdrew his earlier claim that he earned dollars from the sale of the Maitama land to Tommey, with which he paid for the Asokoro home.

Ohakim, in the statement, had claimed that there was a fire in his house, which destroyed some of his documents, making it impossible for him to remember the mode with which he paid for the Asokoro home.

Barko said the defendant withdrew his earlier statement that he paid the cash in dollars.

He also confirmed that the house the defendant sold to Tommey was not the same as 60 Kwame Nkruma Street.

At the conclusion of the sixth witness’ testimony, Keyamo told the court the conclusion of the prosecution’s case.

Kalu said his client, pursuant to the provision of Section 308 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, intended to make a “no-case” submission.

By a “no-case” submission, the defendant will seek to convince the court to discharge the accused on the ground that the prosecution was unable to lead evidence to warrant him to be called to defend himself.

If the court upholds the “no-case” submission, the defendant will be discharged. But if the court rejects the “no-case” submission, the defendant will be required to enter his defence by calling witnesses.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola adjourned till June 6 for adoption of the written submissions in support and against the “no-case” submission.

A Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, heard yesterday how former Imo State Governor Ikedi Ohakim allegedly bought a property in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with $2.29 million cash concealed in Ghana-Must-Go bag.

A prosecution witness, Abu Sule, who was cross-examined by Ohakim’s lawyer, Awa Kalu (SAN), said he collected $2.29 million cash in a Ghana-Must-Go bag from Ohakim to buy a property for the former governor in highbrow Asokoro, Abuja.

Sule said Ohakim handed the dollars (an equivalent of N270 million) to him in $100 bills at night sometime in November, 2008, for onward transfer to the then owner of the property, Alhaji Isah Maidabino, the next day.

Sule, an architect and Managing Director of Tweenex Consociates H. D. Limited, said he kept the money in the boot of his car overnight before handing it over to Maidabino, now a director in the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation (HOSF).

The witness said he did not count the $2.29 million when the former governor handed it to him because Ohakim trusted him.

He said: “The money ($2.29 million) was given to me by the defendant. It was given to me in a Ghana-Must-Go bag and that was how I transported it. It was in $100 bills. I didn’t count the money and he (Ohakim) didn’t request for counting because we trusted each other. But I counted it along with Alhaji Maidabino.

“I did not issue a receipt because a receipt was not demanded. I was sent an errand and I delivered it.

“I carried the money to Unity Bank in Maitama. I handed over the money to Alhaji Maidabino at Unity Bank. Alhaji Maidabino issued a deed of assignment and a sales agreement to me. He did not acknowledge the receipt of the sum in writing.

“I didn’t pay the money into any account. I didn’t see Alhaji Maidabino pay that sum into any account. I did not witness any transaction. What Alhaji did with the money, I don’t know. But he handed over the title documents of the property to me.”

On whether or not he had a security arrangement while moving the money, the witness said: “I had no security. I trusted in God. I left the money in my car boot and I went home and I slept. I was not accompanied to the bank by any security; I went alone.”

Sule said his dealings with Ohakim were always documented, adding that he issued a receipt for N20 million transaction to the defendant.

The witness said he did not issue any receipt for the $2.29 million the former governor gave him and did not collect any receipt from the Maidabino because the title documents, which he collected from him (Maidabino), were sufficient as proof of payment.

He said: “I gave the money to him (Maidabino) and he gave me the title documents. He signed the sales agreement and I believe that was a good receipt.”

Sule said the sales agreement was between Tweenex and Maidabino, adding that till date, Tweenex remained the registered owner of the property at 60, Kwame Nkrumah Street, Plot No 1098, Cadastral Zone A04, Asokoro District in Abuja.

The witness said he could not confirm the details of the use of the property as collateral by Maidabino for certain loans.

He said up till October 6, 2009, the transfer of the ownership of the property was still “encumbered” by Unity Bank.

Ohakim, who served as Imo State governor between 2007 and 2011, is being prosecuted on a three-count charge of money laundering and false asset declaration.

He is accused of purchasing a property at 60, Kwame Nkrumah Street, Plot No 1098, Cadastral Zone A04, Asokoro District, Abuja, with a cash payment of $2.29 million, which was said to be the dollar equivalent of N270 million, in November, 2008.

The former governor was also accused of failing to declare the property as part of his assets when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) asked him to do so.

Sule, who testified as the second prosecution witness, told the court how he allegedly helped Ohakim to buy and conceal the ownership of the property.

He said the former governor instructed him to use his (Sule’s) company, Tweenex Consociates H. D. Limited, to buy the property.

The witness said Ohakim subsequently put pressure on him to prepare a tenancy agreement with Tweenex, as the landlord, to make it look as if he (Ohakim) was a tenant in the property.

Also yesterday, the prosecution called Maidabino as its third witness.

Led in evidence by prosecution lawyer, Festus Keyamo, Maidabino admitted selling the property to Tweenex through Sule in November, 2008.

The witness said he finished building the house in 1997 while he was a deputy director in the Presidential Villa.

Maidabino, who said he would be 60 years on June 6, confirmed that he collected the $2.29 million cash at Unity Bankin Maitama, Abuja, from Sule for the sale of the house.

He said: “It was in November 2008. He (Sule) paid me in dollars once; he brought the money once. The amount was about $2.3 million.

“The money was brought to me at Unity Bank in Maitama. He brought a prepared deed of assignment and power of attorney in the name of a company, Tweenex, which we signed.”

During cross-examination by Kalu, Maidabino admitted that he did not know Ohakim until recently when he met the former governor in court after the a day’s proceedings in the ongoing trial.

Asked what he salary was, the witness said he was earning N6,000 monthly as a deputy director in the Presidential Villa at the time he finished building the house in 1997.

When asked how he was able to build the house, the witness said he built the house from the money he inherited from his late father and not from his monthly earnings.

Maidabino said he was out of service for 15 years after he was “roped in” in the failed coup led by the late Gen. Sani Abacha’s regime, allegedly by the then Chief of General Staff in the regime, Lt.-Gen. Oladipo Diya (retd.).

Justice Adeniyi Ademola adjourned further proceedings till today.

Former Imo State governor, Ikedi Ohakim got a breather yesterday as a Federal High Court in Abuja accepted his bail application yesterday.

Ohakim, who left office in 2011, was arraigned before the court on Wednesday on a three-count charge bordering on money laundering. The charge was filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

In a ruling yesterday, Justice Adeniyi Ademola ignored the objection  by the prosecution and granted Ohakim bail at N270million, with a surety at the same amount.

The judge, who ordered Ohakim to deposit his international passport with the court’s registrar, said the surety must be a resident of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with a landed property within the FCT.

Justice Ademola observed that the essence of bail was ensure the accused person attend court to stan trial.

He also noted that since the prosecution has concluded investigation, the likelihood of the accused person interfering with prosecution’s witnesses and investigation was not real.

Ohakim is being prosecuted  for allegedly making a cash payment to the tune of $2, 290,000.00 ( about N270,000,000.00) , for the purchase of a property at Plot No. 1098 Cadastral Zone A04, Asokoro District, otherwise known as No.60, Kwame Nkurumah Street, Asokoro, Abuja.

It is the EFCC’s contention that the amount is above the threshold approved for an individual going by the provisions of Section 1 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2004.

He is also accused of deliberately neglecting to disclose all his assets in the declaration submitted to the EFCC and the Code of Conduct Bureau.

One of the counts reads:  “That you, Ikedi Ohakim, on or about the 26th of January, 2013 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, while under arrest for an offence under the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Establishment Act, 2004 knowingly failed to make a full disclosure of your assets by not declaring your ownership of the property known and described as Plot No. 1098 Cadastral Zone A04, Asokoro District- it is also known as No.60, Kwame Nkurumah Street, Asokoro, Abuja and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 27(3)(c) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Establishment Act, 2004 and punishable under the same section.”

EFCC said it discovered, in the course of investigation, that Ohakim allegely acquired the house while he was Imo State governor in 2008 “through a proxy – Tweenex Consociate Nigeria Limited at N270m and the payment was made in dollars of about $2,290,000.00 through one proxy, known as Abu Sule, who in turn paid the money to one Mukhtari Isa Maidabino.

“The accused person fraudulently entered into a tenancy agreement with Tweenex Consociate for a two-year rent of the said property for N20m.

“He issued three Fidelity Bank cheques totalling N20m purportedly to be the payment for the rent on the property.

“The agents, Tweenex Consociate confessed that the property does not belong to them, even though they bought it on behalf of the accused person, through a cash transaction in dollars.

“Mukhtari Isa Maidabino confirmed that the house was bought from him in 2008 and payment was made to him in cash with dollars.

“The accused person claimed that the property was bought in 2012 afetr he sold his land in Maitama District, Abuja for N300m, but was paid the dollars equivalent by one Scott Tommey.

“The said Scott Tommey bought the land through his company, Merryl Fynch Limited for N250m, through his Sterling Bank account, to the accused person’s account in Fidelity Bank and not by cash in dollars as claimed by the accused person.

“The accused person did not declared the Asokoro property to the Code of Conduct Bureau and also in EFCC Assets Declaration Form.”

Ohakim has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Further hearing has been adjourned to October 20.