By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
An ex- Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar, was on Tuesday discharged and acquitted on six counts out of seven counts charge of money laundering, fraudulent procurement and criminal breach of trust preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, while ruling on a no-case submission filed by the former Air Force Chief through his counsel Mr Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), acquitted and discharged him on six counts but held that the defendant has a case to answer on count seven.
Discharging the defendant on each of the six counts, Justice Dimgba held that the prosecution was not able to link the defendant with the removal of money from the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) account for the purchase of any of his houses in Mabuchi, Kano, Asokoro and Kaduna as alleged.
He also held that there was no direct link between Umar and the vendors of the houses which he bought outside the period he was chief of air staff.
Besides, the judge said that the court, being a court of law and not of morals, could not rule on the morals of the monthly upkeep funds for the office of the chief of air staff.
In his view and as required by law, the burden to show that the money for buying the houses came from illegal sources was on the prosecution, which it failed to discharge.
According to the judge, “there was no evidence that the defendant violated any of the provisions of the Money Laundering Act”.
However, Justice Dimgba refused the no-case submission of the defendant’s counsels on count seven.
He noted that the sum of N66 million was transferred from the NAF operations account for the renovation/improvement of Umar’s Asokoro extension house.
Consequently, he ordered Umar to defend himself on the seventh count which borders on the transfer of money from the NAF account to a personal account for the renovation of the house in Asokoro, Abuja.
Justice Dimgba had adjourned the matter till April 28 and 29 for the defendant to open defence on count seven.
Count seven reads in part: “That you, Air Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar, whilst being the Chief of Air Staff, Nigerian Air Force on or about March 2012 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this court indirectly transferred the sum of N66 million only into the Stanbic IBTC Account No: 0202077424 belonging to Capital Law Office from NAF Operations Account domiciled at UBA Plc.
“This was for the renovation/improvement of house No.1853 Deng Xiao Ping Street, off Mahathir Mohammed Street, Asokoro Extension, Abuja when you reasonably ought to have known that the said funds formed part of the proceeds of your unlawful activity (to wit: criminal breach of trust and corruption) and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15 (2) (b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act.”
The EFCC through its counsel, Mr Sylvanus Tahir closed its case following which Umar filed a no-case submission through his counsel, Mr Onyechi Ikpeazu, (SAN).
Mohammed Dikko Umar had in his no-case submission, argued that the Commission had not proved the charges brought against him beyond reasonable doubt and therefore, he should be discharged and acquitted.
While opposing the no-case submission, the prosecution informed the court that a reply to the no-case submission was filed on November 26, 2020.
The prosecution argued that the evidence marshalled against Dikko showed that he was guilty of the charges against him and deserved to be convicted and sentenced.
The defendant who served as Chief of the Air Staff between 2010 and 2012 is being prosecuted by the EFCC, on seven-counts bordering on money laundering and fraudulent procurement to the tune of N9.7 billion.
