By Jude-Ken Ojinnaka
The trial of former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji
over alleged N338.8 million money laundering charges slated to continue on Wednesday, May 3 before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos could not hold due to some undisclosed reasons.
The matter is now shifted to Thursday, May 4 and Friday 5, for the continuation of the trial.
Ikuforiji is charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside his former Personal Assistant, Oyebode Atoyebi on 54 counts charges bordering on the offence.
They had each pleaded not guilty before Justice Mohammed Liman, and were allowed to continue on an earlier bail granted to them in 2012 when they were first arraigned.
At the last adjourned date of March 15, the prosecutor, Mr Ekene Iheanacho, had complained of the slow pace of trial in the case, following a letter of adjournment by the defence.
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Iheanacho had argued that even though there was a letter for adjournment by defence counsel, the defendants ought to be present in court
He had, therefore, made an oral application for the bail of the defendants to be revoked.
However, the court had in its wisdom, ordered the defendants to be present in court on the next adjourned date of May 3 and 4.
The trial is now shifted to continue on May 4 and 5.
On March 17, 2021, the EFCC closed its case after calling the second witness for the prosecution, Mr Adewale Olatunji, a former Clerk of the Lagos House of Assembly
The prosecution called a total of two witnesses in support of its case.
The matter was then adjourned for the defence to open its case and begin its defence.
However, Justice Liman was later transferred out of the Lagos division and is now presiding over the case on a fiat.
The defendants were first arraigned on March 1, 2012, before Justice Okechukwu Okeke on a 20-count charge bordering on misappropriation and money laundering.
They had each pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted bail.
The defendants were, however, subsequently re-arraigned before Justice Ibrahim Buba, following a re-assignment of the case.
Buba had granted them bail in the sum of N500 million each with sureties in like sum.
On September 26, 2014, Justice Buba discharged Ikuforiji and his aide of the charges, after upholding a no-case submission of the defendants.
Buba had held that the EFCC failed to establish a prima facie case against them.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, the EFCC through its counsel, Mr Godwin Obla (SAN), filed Notice of Appeal dated September 30, 2014 challenging the decision of the trial court.
Obla had argued that the trial court erred in law when it held that the counts were incompetent because they were filed under Section 1(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004 which was repealed by an Act of 2011.
EFCC further argued that the lower court erred in law when it held that the provisions of Section 1 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004 and 2011, only applied to natural persons and corporate bodies other than the Government.
The commission had also submitted that the trial judge erred in law when he held and concluded that the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses supported the innocence of the respondents.
In its judgement in November 2016, the Lagos Division of the Appeal Court agreed with the prosecution and ordered a fresh trial of the defendants before another judge.
Following the decision of the Appeal Court, the defendants headed for the Supreme Court, seeking to upturn the ruling of the Appellate court.
Again, in its verdict, the Apex Court also upheld the decision of the appellate court and ordered that the case be sent back to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reassignment to another judge.
According to the charge, EFCC alleged that the defendants accepted cash payments above the threshold set by the Money Laundering Act, without going through a financial institution.
The Commission accused the defendants of conspiring to commit an illegal act of accepting cash payments in the aggregate sum of N338.8 million from the House of Assembly without going through a financial institution.
Ikuforiji was also accused of using his position to misappropriate funds belonging to the Assembly.
The EFCC said that the defendants committed the offences between April 2010 and July 2011.
The offences, according to the EFCC, contravenes the provisions of Sections 15 (1d), 16(1d) and 18 of Money Laundering Act, 2004 and 2011.