‪Money Laundering: Ex- Lagos Speaker, Ikuforiji, Aide file Notice of Appeal at Supreme Court

BY IFEOMA IKEM

In a bid to upturn the ruling of Lagos Division of Appeal Court,  ordering his re-trial for money laundering offences, the former Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr. Ikuforiji Sabit Adeyemi, and his Personal Assistant, Olabode Alade Atoyebi, have filed a notice of Appeal before Supreme Court of Nigeria, challenging the verdict of the Appellate Court.‬

‪In the notice of appeal filed before Lagos Division of Appeal Court, both the former Speaker and his Personal Assistant, through their lawyer, Barrister Abiodun Onidare, separately asked the apex court to set aside the whole ruling of the Appeal Court.‬

‪In the said notice of appeal, the appellants described the Appeal Court’s decisions as unreasonable, unwarranted, and cannot be supported having regards to the evidence and materials on record.‬

‪Consequently, appellants are urging the Supreme Court, to uphold their no case submissions as upheld by a Federal High Court, in Lagos presided over by Justice Ibrahim Buba, on September 26, 2014, and dismiss the Appeal Court’s decision.

It would be recalled that the Lagos division of Court of Appeal, had set aside the ruling of Justice Ibrahim Buba of a Lagos Federal High Court which discharged former Speaker, Ikuforiji and his Personal Assistant, Oyebode of a 56 count charge of conspiracy and laundering the sum of N500 million belonging to the Assembly, an offences which according to the EFCC contravened sections 15 (1d) and 16(1d) of Money Laundry Act, MLA, 2004 and 2011.

The appellate court in a unanimous judgment set aside the verdict of the trial judge, Justice Ibrahim Buba, holding that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had made out a prima facie case against the former Speaker and his personal assistant to require them  to enter a defence to the charge brought against them.

In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Biobela Georgewill,the appellate court also ordered that trial should start trial ‘de novo’ (afresh), before another judge of the Federal High Court, Lagos other than Justice Buba in the light of the far-reaching findings already made by him.

The Judge, who discharged the Speaker and Atoyebi, while ruling on a no case submission filed by the duo, held that the EFCC failed to establish a prima-facie case against  the accused persons and also failed to proof any of the ingredients of the crime of money laundering.

The EFCC further argued that the lower court erred in law, when it held that the provision of Section 1 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004 and 2011 only applies to natural persons and corporate bodies other than government; like the office of the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.

The Commission also submitted that the trial judge erred in law when it held and concluded that the case of the prosecution witnesses supported the innocence of the respondents.