By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos Nigeria was on Friday informed that the former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, standing trial alongside with former minister of state for finance, Mrs. Nenadi Usman, was indisposed and therefore unable to be in court, for continuation of his trial.
When the case which is before Justice Mohammed Rilwan Aikawa was called for trial, Fani-Kayode’s counsel B. F. Ajudua said he was “indisposed”.
He, however, did not say openly nature of the health problem with the former minister.
“We apologise for the absence of the second defendant. A letter to that effect was filed,” he said.
Fani-Kayode, Director of Publicity of the Goodluck Jonathan Presidential Campaign Organisation in 2015, is on trial with former minister of state for finance Mrs Nenadi Usman for alleged money laundering.
They were charged with former Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) Chairman and ex-Chairman of Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Mr. Yusuf Danjuma, and a company, Joint-trust Dimentions Nigeria Limited.
According to the charge by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC), the four defendants were accused of violating the Money Laundering Act by indirectly retaining N300million, N400million and N800million, all proceeds of corruption.
The prosecution averred that they allegedly committed the offence, to which they pleaded not guilty, between January 8 and March 25, 2015 ahead of the 2015 general elections.
At the trial on May 14, Fani-Kayode’s counsel had opposed the prosecution’s bid to tender an extra-judicial statement he made.
Usman and Yusuf had also disowned their statements, contending that they made them under duress.
The defence counsel, Messrs Ferdinand Orbih (SAN), Norrison Quakers (SAN) and Clement Onwuenwuenor, urged the judge to order a trial-within-trial to test the voluntariness of the statements.
But the prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, maintained that the defendants made the statements voluntarily, adding that there was no need for a trial-within-trial.
Justice Rilwan Aikawa had adjourned till Friday May 31(today) for ruling on the statements’ admissibility, but Fani-Kayode’s absence stalled it.
The judge then adjourned until June 24 for ruling and possible trial-within-trial.
