Court reserves judgment in EFCC, AGF’s appeal against Aiteo boss

The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division has reserved judgment in the appeal filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) seeking to nullify the judgment of the High Court stopping the prosecution of the Chief Executive Officer and founder of the Aiteo Group, Mr. Benedict Peters.

Other appellants in the appeal Numbered, CA/CV/71/2022, are the British National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), while the respondents are Benedict Peters, Colinwood Ltd and Rosewood Investment.

A panel of the appellate court presided by Justice Oye Oyewumi with Justice Okon Abang, reserved judgment to a date that would be communicated to parties after counsel adopted their brief of arguments for and against the appeal.

The appeal is against the judgment of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which quashed all allegations bothering on corruption, bribery and money laundering, brought against Aiteo boss and international billionaire businessman, Benedict Peters by the British and Nigerian agencies, arising from his ownership of a number of properties.

The trial Judge, Justice Olukayode Adeniyi held that the EFCC founded its case mainly on an undated and unsigned document that bore no name of its alleged maker, titled, “Highly Confidential Attorney Work”, allegedly issued by one Donald Chidi Amangbo.

The court consequently awarded the sum of N200 million damages jointly and severally against the anti-graft agency and the then AGF, Abubakar Malami, SAN, and five others, in favour of Mr Benedict Peters and the three companies.

The court held that, “It is hereby declared that the defendants, by fraudulent design, suppressed and misrepresented facts in supposition that the claimants’ properties, legitimately acquired, belonged to Mrs Deziani Alison Madueke, former Minister of Petroleum in Nigeria, and/or were unlawfully acquired, a fact they knew or ought to know were false, incorrect and baseless, constitute the tort of carousel fraud”.

The suit marked FCT/HC/CV/0536/17, was filed on behalf of the Plaintiffs by Prof Mike Ozekhome, SAN, Chief Emeka Ozoani, SAN, Chief Andrew Oru, Chief Nobis Elendu, and a crack team of other lawyers, on May 11, 2017, with an amended statement of claim filed on 31st January 31, 2019. Suleiman Jibrin, represented the EFCC and 6 others, while Farouk Abdullah led others to represent the AGF.

The trial court, condemned the, “deceitful sham allegations by the defendants”; and held that “the unlawful means of conspiracy of the defendants was to extract by intimidation, coercion, the assets, properties and monies to which the claimants are legitimately entitled.”

The claimants had, in the suit claimed against the defendants, the sum of $5 billion USD (equivalent of N1.5 trillion at the then exchange rate of 315 to one US Dollar), for the tort of carousel fraud. In the judgment, the court deprecated the defendants’ actions in fraudulently misrepresenting and facts in support of their false claims that the properties belonging to the Plaintiffs (Benedict Peters, Collinwood Ltd, Rosewood Investments Ltd and & Walworth Properties Ltd), which had been legitimately acquired, belonged to Mrs Deziani Alison Madueke, and were thus, allegedly unlawfully acquired.

The properties which belongs to the plaintiffs, but falsely and wrongfully alleged to belong to Diezani Alison Madueke were, “270-17 Street, Unit #4204, Atlanta, Georgia; Flat 5 Parkview, 83-86 Prince Albert Road, St. John’s Wood, London; Flat 58 Harley House Marylebone, London; and, Apartments 4 & 5, Arlington Road, London.”