By Jude-Ken Ojinnaka
A former governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako, his son, Abdulaziz and others were re-arraigned before Justice Peter Lifu (JP) of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
The defendants were re-arraigned on Thursday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC ) on 37 counts charge bordering on alleged money laundering to the tune of N29 billion.
They were charged with 37 counts of criminal conspiracy, theft, abuse of office, and money laundering.
The EFCC claimed that Nyako and his co-defendants allegedly committed the fraud while he held sway as the governor of Adamawa State.
Other defendants re-arraigned along with the former Adamawa governor were Abubakar Aliyu and Zulkifik Abba.
The companies allegedly used in the alleged money laundering were Blue Opal Limited, Sebore Farms & Extension Limited, Pagoda Fortunes Limited, Tower Assets Management Limited, and Crust Energy Limited.as fifth to ninth defendants respectively,
The re-arraignment of Murtala Nyako and other defendants before Justice Lifu on Thursday was sequel to the elevation of the former trial judge, Justice Okon Abang to the Court of Appeal.
When the matter was mentioned in court, the EFCC prosecuting counsel, Oluwaleke Atolagbe, informed the court that the case was for re-arraignment of the defendants for the case to start “de novo” (afresh) “because the first two judges assigned to the case were no longer available”.
“Justice Evoh Chukwu first handled the matter where we called eight witnesses before he died. It was then transferred to Justice Okon Abang, where we called 21 witnesses and closed our case.
“Unfortunately, Justice Abang was elevated to the Court of Appeal, and that is why we are before you today, my lord,” Atolagbe submitted.
At this point, the trial judge, Justice Lifu, ordered that the charge be read to the defendants so they might enter a plea. After listening to the charge, all the defendants maintained their not guilty plea.
After taking the plea, the defendants’ counsel Michael Aondoakaa (SAN), pleaded with the court to grant his client’s request to continue attending trial on bail under the same terms and circumstances as were set down when the court initially accepted their plea.
“We pray the court will allow us to continue enjoying that bail, and for our part, we promise not to default even now,” Aondoakaa prayed. The judge asked whether the sureties are still available.
The judge allowed them to continue under the same bail terms after counsel confirmed that the sureties were still available and the prosecution had not objected.
Moreover, the prosecution informed the court that attempts had been made to reach a plea bargain agreement before Abang’s elevation.
Atolagbe submitted that the prosecution was prepared to listen to the defendants if they were open to considering that option.
But Aondoakaa clarified that given the former governor’s advanced age, the agreement was more about “settling the matter amicably” than a plea deal.
The judge then fixed May 10 and 13 as new trial dates.
In the charge, the EFCC claimed that between January 2011 and December 2014, the defendants allegedly took money out of the Adamawa treasury.
According to the Commission, they used businesses as covert channels to steal billions of dollars, which they transferred into personal accounts and transferred to Abuja, where they were used to construct private estates.
