• Set to appeal acquittal
There are strong indications that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is again set to arrest and interrogate speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Adeniyi Ikuforiji, over fresh allegations of fraud amounting to over N2.3 billion of state funds.
A highly placed EFCC source told Nigerian Pilot Sunday that the fresh allegations have nothing to do with the current prosecution of the Speaker before a Lagos High Court.
According to the source, the operatives of the commission in conjunction with the legal unit are studying the allegations before a formal arrest will be effected.
The anti-graft agency has also said that it would appeal against the verdict of the Federal High Court, which acquitted Mr. Adeniyi Ikuforiji and one of his aides, Oyebode Atoyebi on Friday.
The Lagos Speaker and Atoyebi had been facing prosecution on a 54-count of alleged money laundering to the tune of N603 million.
The Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said that the EFCC was not satisfied with the ruling of the court as it had evidence that the accused persons committed acts of money laundering to the tune of N338.8 million.
“The learned judge erred in this ruling. The proof of evidence to the charge clearly showed that the provisions of the Money Laundering Act had been violated by the accused persons in receiving various cash payments from the assembly amounting to about N338.8 million.” The statement read in part.
The statement quoted Justice Buba of the Lagos High Court as having ruled that the prosecution failed to prove its case against the accused person.
The presiding judge was said to have described the ruling as “anachronistic” because the prosecution “misconstrued and misinterpreted” the Money Laundering Act.
It was stated that Ikuforiji’s lead counsel, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), had urged the court to ignore the charges against his client on the premise that the Money Laundering Act of 2004 with which the accused persons were charged had been “replaced with the Money Laundering Act, 2011 and should not have been used in charging them.
Source: Nigerian Pilot
