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Judge’s Absence Stalls Ex-Lagos Speaker, Ikuforiji’s Trial

Published

6 months ago

November 20, 2023

Editor

The trial of a former speaker of the Lagos House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, over alleged money laundering was on Monday, stalled because Justice Mohammed Liman of the Federal High Court did not sit.

The case which was first fixed for continuation of trial on November 15, could not proceed at the last adjourned date as the court did not sit and it was, consequently, fixed for November 20.

On Monday, the case also could not proceed as the court did not sit following a letter by defence counsel, seeking an adjournment of the case to a more convenient date.

A new date is, however, yet to be communicated to parties.

Justice Liman, who presides over the case, had been transferred out of the Lagos division but still comes from his division to preside over the case following a fiat.

Ikuforiji is charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission alongside his former Personal Assistant, Oyebode Atoyebi.

They are being tried before on a 54-count bordering on alleged N338.8 million money laundering.

They had each pleaded not guilty and were allowed to continue on an earlier bail granted to them in 2012 when they were first arraigned.

On March 17, 2021, the EFCC had closed its case after calling the second witness for the prosecution.

Prosecution called a total of two witnesses in support of its case.

Meanwhile, Justice Liman was later transferred out of the Lagos division and the case suffered several set backs.

On May 4, (this year) defence counsel Mr Dele Adesina SAN, opened the case for the defence and had began calling witnesses.

Defence called three witnesses, including the first defendant (Ikuforiji).

Among others, Ikuforiji had testified how he was being prosecuted on a faceless petition.

He had told the court that the instant case arose from a petition written by an unknown person, alleging that he had stolen about N7 billion from the Lagos House of Assembly.

The matter was consequently, fixed for adoption of written addresses

The case will now continue on the next adjourned date.

The defendants were first arraigned on March 1, 2012 before Justice Okechukwu Okeke on a 20-counts charge bordering on misappropriation and money laundering.

They had each pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted bails.

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 sun

On Sept. 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 the Notice of Appeal dated Sept. 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, the Lagos Division of the Appeal Court, in November 2016, 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.

NAN

News

JUST IN: Tinubu Appoints Governing Board Members For 111 Tertiary Institutions

Published

4 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointments of at least 555 persons to serve as Pro-chancellors/Chairmen and members of Governing Boards of 111 federal universities, polytechnics and Colleges of Education.

This followed Tinubu’s assent to a list of nominees selected by the Ministry of Education.

An advertorial by the Education Ministry sighted by The PUNCH showed the appointment of a chairperson and four members for each of the institutions.

It was signed by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack.

“The inauguration and retreat for the Governing Councils will take place on Thursday, May 30 and Friday, May 31, 2024, at the National Universities Commission, 26 Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja. Both events will commence at 9:00am daily,” said Walson-Jack.

When contacted for confirmation, the Presidency said the list emanated from the Ministry of Education.

“This is from the Federal Ministry of Education…they make the nominations and forward them to the President to sign. But they are at liberty to release it from their end,” the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, told The PUNCH on Sunday.

The appointments come days after the Academic Staff Union of Universities had threatened to embark on another strike, potentially disrupting the academic calendar and causing further setbacks in the country’s higher education sector.

The union, on Tuesday, decried the failure of the Federal Government to appoint Governing Councils for federal universities.

The union also faulted what it described as the nonchalant attitude of the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government to matters about academics in federal universities.

The body of academics, during a briefing at the University of Abuja, also faulted the 35 per cent salary increment for professors and the 25 per cent salary increment for other academics in the university system.

News

HOMEF Applauds NASS On Decision To Investigate GMOs In Nigeria

Published

4 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

…says Nigeria needs to prioritise public health

Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and the GMO-Free Nigeria
Alliance have commended the House of Representatives on the resolution to comprehensively investigate the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into Nigeria and for a halt on approval of new products
pending the completion of that investigation.

This is as the House of Representatives also urged the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to ensure labelling of GM crops already in the country.

The House resolution to investigate the introduction of GMOs into Nigeria followed the adoption of a motion by Rep. Muktar Shagaya at a plenary session held on Thursday 16th May 2024.

In a statement made available to INFO DAILY Kome Odhomor, Media/Communication Lead, HOMEF, the Executive Director of the organisation, Dr Nnimmo Bassey, said ass the lawmaker rightly explained, the introduction of GMOs in Nigeria raises serious concerns about safety, regulatory oversight, and their potential impacts on the country’s biosafety.

He noted that the investigation which has been long “overdue is vital to save the country from the dangerous path to food colonialism, contamination of our genetic resources, loss of
biodiversity/nutritional diversity, soil degradation, and overall
disruption of our agriculture and food systems.”

Bassey continued: “This investigation must be unbiased and thorough. To ensure this, the National Assembly should engage independent researchers to avoid contamination of the process by GMO promoters.

“This investigation should consider Nigeria’s agricultural landscape and investigate the underlying
causes of hunger/food insecurity and as well establish definite measures to address those issues. This is the time to rescue Nigerians from being used for risky experimentations.”

The Executive Director also stressed the need for critical examination of the National Biosafety Management Agency Act for its fitness for purpose.

He further added: “That law needs to be completely reworked to close existing loopholes including the composition of its governing/decision making board by excluding GMO promoters such as the National Biotechnology Development Agency; the lack of provision on strict liability, inadequate public consultation measures, absolute decision-making powers of the agency, minimal reference to the precautionary principal and many others.

“This was the submission of Mariann Bassey-Orovwuje, Food Sovereignty Activist and Deputy Executive Director at Friends of the Earth Nigeria.”

Also reacting to the Green Chamber’s call on NAFDAC to label GMO crops in the country, HOMEF’s Director of Programmes and lead on Hunger Politics, Joyce Brown, noted that the agency will need to devise strategies to have foods sold in local markets in basins, by the road sides, and in processed forms like Ogi and Akara labelled to ensure informed decision-making by the majority of people who purchase food from these sources.

“This exercise will prove that GMOs do not fit our socio-economic context. Over the years, market shelf surveys conducted by HOMEF has revealed over 50 different processed/packaged foods labelled as produced using genetically modified ingredients,” she added.

Brown advised that permits for commercialisation of GMO products such as Bt Cowpea, Tela Maize, Bt Corn and all others be suspended pending the result of the investigation by the House Committee on Agriculture and others.

The statement reaffirmed the submission by Rep. Shagaya that there’s need to prioritise public health, biodiversity, increased support of small holder farmers in terms of extension service, provision of infrastructure (to curtail waste), access to credits, access to land and the growth of our local economy.

“Nigeria should adopt agroecological farming which aligns well with our socio economic and socio cultural
context. Agroecology delivers increased productivity and economic resilience, revises/nourishes ecosystems, strengthens local economies, mitigates climate change and promotes food sovereignty,” the statement concluded.

News

Mother Of Five Jailed For Forging Late Abba Kyari’s Signature

Published

13 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

A mother of five, Ramat Mba, has been sentenced to one-year imprisonment by a Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Gwagwalada, Abuja, for her involvement in an employment scam.

Ramat who was also found guilty of forging the signature of the late Abba Kyari, the Chief of Staff to the former President, Muhammadu Buhari, was arraigned before the court by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission on a 5-count bordering on cheating, fraud and forgery, contrary to Section 13 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000 and Sections 320(b), 366 of the Penal Code Cap 89 laws of Northern Nigeria.

She reportedly committed the offence sometime in 2020 when she collected N4.5 million from several job seekers, promising to secure jobs for them with the ICPC and National Air Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA).

Also, the documentary evidence tendered showed that the convict fraudulently forged the letterhead of the Office of the Chief of Staff to former President Buhari and his signature. The letter, addressed to the ICPC Chairman, was a request for the recruitment of three individuals by the commission.

However, the late CoS, in a written correspondence that was also tendered in court as an exhibit, distanced himself or his office from authorising the letter.

Commenting on the sentencing, spokesperson for the ICPC, Demola Bakare said;

“The trial judge, Justice Muhammad, in his judgment on May 9, 2024, convicted the mother of five children on counts 1, 2, 3 and 5 that border on cheating and forgery, while she was discharged on count 4 which borders on felony.

“Justice Muhammad, during the sentencing on Thursday, pronounced a six-month jail term or N100,000 option of fine on counts 1, 2 and 3 on the convict.

“The presiding judge, who stressed the status of the convict as a first-time offender and a mother, also sentenced her to one-year imprisonment or N150,000 option on fine on count 5 which borders on forgery.”