Winsu who admitted ownership of the passport photograph as well the driver’s license attached to the said Title document told the court that he does not own a house in Lagos talkless of having a Certificate of Occupancy.
By Jude-Ken Ojinnaka
A mild drama occurred at the Federal High Court, Lagos on Friday, when Ekene Calistus Winsu who stood as surety for his brother currently standing trial for an alleged concealment of drug money suddenly slumped while listening to court pronouncement remanding him in prison custody for allegedly using fake document as bail bond for his brother.
Ekene Calistus Winsu, a surety for his brother Ogbo Emmanuel Obiora collapsed when interrogated on the authenticity of the title documents of a landed property he used as surety to secure the bail of his brother from custody.
Winsu who admitted ownership of the passport photograph as well the driver’s license attached to the said Title document told the court that he does not own a house in Lagos talkless of having a Certificate of Occupancy.
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“My Lord I don’t have any house in Lagos talkless of having a C of O, this is the first time I am seeing this documents, I don’t know anything about it “
When asked how his driver’s license and passport photogragh got into court’s file and attached to the documents as a surety, Winsu said the lawyer, Victor Abana who was handling the matter before his death, came to him and asked him to stand as surety for his brother, adding that in the process, the lawyer collected his driver’s license and passport photographs, adding “that is all I gave to the late lawyer.”
The document became suspicious when it was discovered that the property’s C of O was signed by a military administrator during the Nigerian civil war.
But the presiding judge, Justice Ayokunle Faji while remanding the suspect in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service, directed the prosecutor, Mr Abu Ibrahim from the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency,(NDLEA), to write the office of the Attorney General for in depth investigation and DPP’s advise.
The court further mandated the Deputy Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court, Lagos to verify the genuineness of the Title documents and send their findings to the Attorney General’s office for his legal advice.
Meanwhile, the trial judge thereafter adjourned the matter till November 11th for the sentencing of the two convicts.
Recall that Ozor IKenna and Ogbo Emmanuel Obiora were arraigned for allegedly concealing the sum of $162,883.740 drug money knowing fully well that the said money
directly or indirectly represents the proceeds of a criminal conduct, to wit dealing and trafficking in narcotic drugs and you thereby committed an offense contrary to Section 18(a) and punishable under Section 17(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended).
“That you Ozoh Ikenna Male, Adult, on or about the 9th September 2015 during the outward clearance of Etihad Airline flight to Brazil at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos concealed the sum of $34,000 (Thirty-Four Thousand United States Dollars) knowing that the said money is a proceed of a criminal conduct and you thereby committed an offense contrary to and punishable under Section 16(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended).
“That you Ozoh Ikenna Male, Adult, on or about the 9th September 2015 during the outward clearance of Etihad Airline flight to Brazil at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos failed to declare to the Nigerian Customs Service the sum of $34,000 (Thirty-Four Thousand United States Dollars) in your possession and you thereby committed an offense contrary to and punishable under Section 2(S) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended).
“That you Ogbo Emmanuel Obiora, Male, Adult between the period of February 2014 and October 2015 collaborated with one Chinedu (now at large) in concealing or nesting the sum of N128,883,740.00 (One Hundred and Twenty-Eight Million, Eight Hundred and Eighty-Three Thousand, Seven Hundred and Forty Naira only) in your Diamond Bank personal savings Account No. 0042824083 being resources derived directly or indirectly from illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and you thereby committed an offense contrary to and punishable under Section 15(1)(b) of the Money Laundering | (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended).
